One Step at a Time
by zippy zany
Summary: Troy has been physically and mentally abused all his life. When he comes to live with the Bolton's can they help him to lead a normal life, or is it too late for Troy and he is too damaged?
1. Chapter 1

_Hello,  
For some reason I have always enjoyed stories that involve Troy being pushed around, extreme angst to the main character if you really want to know.  
But for reason I found the that many stories had his father "Jack" as the main abuser and it didn't sit right with me. I always liked his character and thought that he generally cared for his son. So I set out to create a story that focuses on Troy being abused and then the Bolton's helping him to get better. The first few chapters of this story will deal with Troy's life before he comes to live with the Bolton's then it will mainly focus on Troy getting better._

_I don't own any of this, just borrowing the charaters for a while._

14 year old Troy's alarm clock went off at 5 o'clock in the morning, he groaned and got out of the nest of blankets he was sleeping under. The basement he was sleeping in was never heated, not that Albuquerque was ever that cold at night but if you were sleeping on a mattress in the basement with only blankets to keep you warm it tended to get chilly.

Troy did not mind after all you had to have had comfort and heat to be bothered by your situation and as far as Troy knew this was how it was supposed to be.

He got up and carefully folded his blankets and straightened his sheets then put on his exercise clothes and went outside.

He first went through stretches to warm himself up and then it was an hour of brutal individual exercise on the private basketball court at the back of the house. He exercised knowing that he was not good enough and if he practiced just a bit more he could at least be on the level of the bottom players of the team and be worthy of a place on the team and not be a bigger embarrassment to his father.

After an hour he went inside to his bathroom downstairs and took a freezing shower. Nowhere in the house except his father's bathroom which he was not allowed to enter was there hot water. His father had seen to that by paying a plumber years ago to cut the hot water to everywhere in the house.

Troy had never known what a hot shower was until he went to junior high school and took a shower after his first gym class and realized what he was missing. His classmates who had already thought him to be slightly weird found the fact he stayed in the shower for over 15 minutes a little strange and a teacher had to be called in to get him out. To his horror his father had been notified of his weird behaviour and he had paid dearly for the 15 minute pleasure and never tired it again. Even now at school his showers were the shortest he could manage usually taken cold so he wouldn't fall to the temptation. He didn't deserve a hot shower anyways.

After his shower he found the clothes his father had left out for him to wear, put them on and packed his school and gym bags. He left his bags by the door and went into the kitchen to make breakfast and a sandwich for his lunch, packed it in his bag along an apple and a bottle of juice.

He made French toast this morning, coffee for his father and a glass of milk for himself. By the time he was done his father had come down and was sitting down with his newspaper. Troy knew that his father woke up around the same time he got up and turned off the alarm but never interacted with him. Troy placed his father's breakfast before him and sat down to eat his.

When he was done he started to clean up. He rinsed the dishes and cups and put them in the dishwasher, after he wiped the counters down he went around the island in the kitchen to stand on the side that was facing his father and turned around.

He unbuckled his belt and lowered his jeans to his ankles, at least for the last few years his father allowed him to keep his underwear up unless he was really upset with him. He spread his feet as far as they would open with his pants being in the way and placed his hands on the island to brace himself and waited.

After about five minutes his father folded his newspaper and got up. He got the strap from where he kept it in the top drawer and moved behind Troy. He reached out and pulled Troy's underwear down. Troy tried not to flinch as he knew that today was not going to be a good day.

His father was upset about something he had done and he was going to get extra discipline this morning. On a normal day his father just gave him five hits and sent him on his way, if he was in a good mood Troy got away with three, he even knew days where his father just gave him two.

As far as he could remember his mornings started the same way. Grid discipline is what his father called it, what he needed, otherwise who knew what he would get up to.

When he first started school it was a spanking, his father would push his chair back to signal he was ready and he would have to lower his pants and underwear and lie down over his father lap and receive what was his due. However as he grew up his father had to get more force full as he became more trouble. He never questioned it because he never knew anything different.

The first five hits were hard and fast right on his buttocks and then his father moved down, he got two on his right side sitting spot and then two on his left side. His father moved further down to hit him on top of his thighs again two on each side, he got one more right in the middle of his sitting spot and one more on his buttocks and his father was done.

Troy absent mindlessly noted that he had gotten fifteen hits that morning and he didn't even know what he could have possiblly done wrong. He no longer wondered or asked his father, he just accepted the fact that this was the way life was.

"You may go now" was the first thing and the last thing his father told him every morning since he had started grade school.

"Thank you for caring sir" was Troy's automatic response as he moved to pull up his boxers and jeans. He moved to the door and got his bags and went to wait for the school bus.

He got on the bus and moved to sit at his usual place in the middle of the bus. He never flinched when his buttocks touched the seat after all he was used to pain. He was in constant pain and always uncomfortable during school but he was used to it. His buttocks were always a purple colour but his father was smart, he only hit Troy in places that people were not likely to see. None of the other boys thought it weird that he would put on his boxers under his towel after his shower as many did the same anyway.

After school Troy got of the school bus and moved towards his house. He unlocked the door and went in, the alarm went off, and he waited until his father came to disable the alarm and to reset it. Every door and window in the house was connected to the alarm and Troy was never privileged to know the nine digit combination his father changed every few months.

He was now a prisoner in his own house but a fish that lived in a fish tank for all its life never knew that it was in a tank.

His father moved towards his office and Troy followed, he left his school bag in the kitchen and went in the office and stood in the middle staring off into space. It took his father about ten minutes to start, he built up from telling Troy how he had killed his mother and how she had died for a no good, useless bit of space who no matter how much he worked at it would not add up to anything.

"I mean I try, every day I try to make you at least be on the same level as the lowest scum who walk this earth, but do you have the ability to get there? No, you are good for nothing; you will be nothing whatever I do, whatever I try. Just look at you; stupid beyond words, not able to do anything, you have to work harder than any other student in school and still you amount to nothing."

So it went, usually his father ranted on for about half an hour and then let him go, what could he do, Troy tired his hardest every day, he got straight A's in school, his homework was impeccable and he was in the basketball team however he knew that he was not good enough.

He was an embarrassment to his father, but he tried, he tried his best but his best was never enough, he would never be on the same level of the other students in school. All he could do was work, work and work and not fall behind so no one would notice that he was stupid and slow.

Today as he knew his father was in a vindictive mood as he went on for an hour before getting the rubber ruler he had. Troy knew that they had come to the end, his father asked him to hold out his hands and received his usual 2 hits to each of his palms and was told to go his way.

He went to the basement and carefully took of his school clothes neatly folded them up and put on his house clothes which were an old pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, no matter what the weather was this is what he wore. He went bare foot as he was never permitted to wear socks or shoes in the house.

He grabbed his clothes and went upstairs. He left his clothes for his father to pick up and put away upstairs in his room. His father and he lived in a big house that had four bedrooms all with a joining bathrooms upstairs. Downstairs there were three other bathrooms two for guests and one designed for the use of the staff that would work in the house, this was Troy's bathroom as all his toiletries were there and it was the one he used. Also on the main floor was a huge living room, dining room, his father's office, a family room and a huge kitchen with a seating area. The whole house was white marble with a few carpets around.

Troy himself had a bedroom upstairs that had a king size bed, a wide screen TV, an apple laptop that sat on his desk. The only problem was that he was never allowed into the room unless he was to clean it and on Saturdays to be kept out of the way.

Cleaning of the house was Troy's responsibility, the least he could do (according to his father) to pay for his keep around the place and pay for the expenses he ranked up.

Troy went to the supply room that was actually designed to be a bedroom should you have live in help and got out the bucket and cleaning supplies. He filled the bucket with water and added the right amount of cleaning detergent in it and grabbed the vacuum cleaner. He then carefully navigated his way to the living room. He had to keep to a schedule his father had made up about what was to be done around the house each day.

This had become routine for Troy as he did everything on auto pilot and usually planned out his homework assignments while he worked. He also could recite some of his favourite books as he worked but he kept that to himself as his classmates thought him to be a mental case when they found out that he could recite some of the books they were to read in class by heart.

First he carefully dusted all around the room, then vacuumed under and between the cushions, after vacuuming and rolling the carpets out of the way he got down to cleaning the floor. His father was against mopping of the floors claiming that when you mopped them they never got clean enough so Troy got down on his hands and knees and scrubbed the floor, then he wiped it with a rag and dried what was still damp with a towel.

After two hours he was done with the living room and the hallway. After disposing the cleaning equipment in the supply room he went to the kitchen and prepared dinner for his father and himself. When he was done he looked over at the clock and realized that he had 56 minutes before dinner, he could get in some suicides.

He went downstairs and changed into his exercise clothes and while downstairs he started a load of washing. Then he went outside and ran suicides for the next half hour, came back in took a shower and was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches to dinner when his father wondered into the kitchen.

While his father and he shared the kitchen table for breakfast it was not the case for dinner. His father liked to have his dinner in the dining room alone while Troy ate his in the kitchen. He served his father his dinner and sat down to eat his. While eating he got his text books out of his school bag and started to read the next chapter in his chemistry book. The teacher was not going to cover what was in that chapter for another two weeks but Troy knew he was going to need that much time to get hang of the material and not look like the idiot he was in front of the class.

When his father was done he wondered though the kitchen heading towards the family room and this was the indicator for Troy to get up and clean up, he went into the dining room to get the dishes and placed everything in the dishwasher and started it. After making sure the kitchen was its spotless self he sat back down at the kitchen table to finish his school assignments and get in some much needed studying so he was able to keep up with at least the bottom members of his class.

Around nine o'clock his father came in and informed him that he had not heard him practice the piano in a while. Troy practiced every night for an hour however his father didn't listen to him that often.

He had almost forgotten that his father was in a bad mood and he knew what was coming after his father listened to him practicing but went into the living room and sat in front of Winter & Company baby grand anyway.

Pleading and begging with his father never worked and he had lost the will to do so almost two years ago. He began to play what he had been working on which was Beethoven's Piano Concerto 2 in B flat minor. As he played he got lost in the music and he was not in this world anymore but was sharply brought back by his father, who screamed,

"Enough! Go wait for me in the basement."

Troy froze with his hands on the keys and slowly got up and did as he was told. There was one reason his father ever came down to the basement, which wasn't every often once in a month or so.

Before his father came down he took the washing out the washing machine and placed them in the dyer, he didn't dare start it with his father on the way but made a mental note to himself to do it afterwards. He then placed a chair in the middle of the room and sat down and waited.

It didn't take long for his father to descend down the stairs. He came carrying a short fat bamboo stick with him, for a moment Troy wondered if he slept with it as he had never seen where his father kept this particular item.

His father moved towards him like he was in a hurry and had other things to do and that this was a chore. As his father grabbed his right ankle and lifted it up and started to hit him on the sole of his foot, Troy considered that perhaps this was a chore for his father.

After all it was not his father's fault he was so useless in everything he did. If he was a bit better than his father wouldn't have to apply the constant discipline to keep him in line. Who knew what he would do if he wasn't constantly disciplined, pushed and punished to be normal?

Troy couldn't help but to let out a whimper as his father delivered the tenth blow and dropped his right foot, he bit his lower lip to keep quiet; he would receive an extra blow for any of the sounds he made. Then his father bent down and grabbed his left ankle and delivered the same treatment to that foot.

Troy's breath was coming in short gasps as his father finished with him delivering a very powerful 11th blow for the whimper Troy had let out. He felt his eyes water from the pain but the tears never fell. He had learnt long ago that he was not allowed to cry in front of his father if he could help it. His father had to do all these things for the sake of his mother so she wouldn't have died in vain and crying for what your father had to do for your sake was not ok.

His left foot hit the floor and pain shot up his entire leg and he rather felt than saw his father leave the basement turning of the lights at the main shaft leaving Troy in complete darkness. Troy knew his way around what he considered his room and didn't mind the darkness so much.

Once upon a time he was terrified of it but crying always got him worst punishments then the monsters in the corners, after all the monsters in the corners never hurt you for real. He just never told his father that they were still there.

He gingerly got up and painfully lipped over to the dryer, started it and made his way over to his mattress in the corner.

He lied down and pulled his knees up to his chest and covered himself with the blankets all the way so they covered his head as well as his body. He tried to tell himself that the tears that were streaming down his face were a onetime thing, next time he would be stronger and they wouldn't fall at all. He would be the strong son his father wanted but deep down he knew it was a lie; the tears would fall no matter what he did. He was a useless piece of space that no one but his father cared about. He cried himself to sleep like he done countless times in past and would do so in the future.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was a Friday and Troy got away with seven hits in the morning, he must have done something right for his father to drop the extra discipline so quickly. Usually if he was being disciplined more than usual it went on for four days but he was not going to complain. He actually had a slight smile on his face as he carefully made his way to the bus stop.

He made sure to drop by the library and exchange his books. He got the continuing story to one of his favourite fantasy novels the Drizzt's series, picked up another story by Charles Dickens.

They were reading Dickens in English class and they were working their way through the book, he already had read the book three times to make sure he got the idea and was re-reading the chapters the teacher would do in class. He found that he enjoyed the way the author told the story even though he was pretty sure he did not grasp the actual fundamentals of it. He thought that it would not hurt to read another story by the same author maybe he would understand the material better then.

He also picked up "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach, he knew the librarian didn't like him to pick up that particular book as he was probably checking it out for the hundredth time. She had told him point blank that he should go out and buy his own copy if he liked it so much.

His father never approved of buying anymore books for him then the necessary ones he would need for school. He told him weekly that it was a waste of money. He was not even going to understand a fourth of what was going on in the books required for school, why was he wasting money on them anyway and on Troy. So Troy knew that the only way he was going to be able to read his favourite book was to check it out of the library.

In the afternoon as he was cleaning his room upstairs he made sure to place the books behind the lose closet wall in the second empty closet along with the flashlight from downstairs with fresh batteries. He knew he was being irresponsible but this was something he could not give up.

He knew that if his father found out he would likely never be allowed in the library. He didn't think he was doing anyone any harm after all he was just reading the books, he was sure he never actually understood what was happening in the stories but he enjoyed them nevertheless. That night at dinner he made sure not to drink anything and eat less than usual also he did the same thing on Saturday morning.

He enjoyed Saturdays; he didn't have to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning to exercise and he got to read books the whole day. The discipline of Saturday was a bit rough but overall it was worth it.

He woke up at 6:00 and after having breakfast by himself he made a salad and several side dishes for his father's guests that would be arriving for a brunch followed by a barbeque and Saturday night basketball or football and finally poker for the night. He set up the poker table and all the dishes his father would need for the day on the kitchen table.

He made sure that he had on his better pair of sweat pants and a newer and a clean t-shirt and he was there when his father's friends began arriving around 10:30 – 11:00 and he made sure he visited the bathroom.

He knew when his father looked his way that it was his queue to leave. He excused himself and told them to have a grand time and made his way to his bedroom upstairs. He heard his father call him to stop and ask him join them like did every week but Troy knew he was not supposed to stop or look back. He heard his father excuse himself to see if he could go and convince his son to join them this weekend and followed him upstairs.

When Troy got to his room he went over to the desk, moved the laptop of and bent over the desk spreading his legs as far as they would spread and grabbed the sides of the desk.

A moment later his father walked into the room and shut the door closed behind him and took the cane that was by the door. And for the next 10 minutes all Troy felt was the cane as it came down over his bottom, thighs and occasionally his back in a total of 20 his father was careful not to hit him anywhere that could be seen, after all no one must know how hard his father worked to keep his half-brained son in line but with the cane he got carried away.

Knowing that the boy got into these positions willingly where he could inflict the pain he was feeling on this useless waste of space for taking away his beautiful wife gave him a thrill. As he taught of his wife he swung the cane harder and felt it hit the boy on his back and the boy started to tremble from the pain, good he should be feeling worse pain, he should feel the pain he felt for the loss of his love.

He also got a kick out of the fact that his friends where downstairs thinking he was trying to convince this trash to join them. The boy would never be allowed out of the house or be seen in good company if he could help it and he would be in constant pain he was the cause of. When he was done he was breathing hard from the excursion, he grabbed the trembling and harsh breathing Troy and deposited him in the empty closet that was in the room locked the closet door as well as the bedroom door and went downstairs to the condolences of his friends as again he explained he could not get his spoiled son to join them for the Saturday activities again and that Troy had locked himself in his room.

It took Troy about 20 minutes to get his breathing under control and get used to the throbbing. He took out his books and flashlight and waited another ten minutes for his hands to stop shaking so he could see his book and lost himself in Drizzt's world. The 20 stores of the cane was worse than the other discipline he got but as he got to read what he wanted for the next 15 hours it something Troy was willing to put up with.

He knew his father would not let him out until tomorrow morning and he would fall asleep sometime around 2 o'clock that night on the hard marble floor that made up the floor of the closet. On the average he spent just under 24 hours in the closet every Saturday and that was the reason he stopped drinking the night before and ate little. He would not be let out to go the bathroom and he only had to learn the lesson once when his father found out that he soiled himself. Before he fell asleep he made sure to tuck his books back behind the closet wall, he always woke before his father and was waiting for him on Sunday mornings but he never took the chance.

He on occasions had to wonder if J.R. Rowing knew what it felt like to be locked in a cupboard, and if she did would she have ever let Harry Potter live in one. On Saturday nights his dreams where full of seagulls who chose their own paths in life, Elfish warriors and wizards that fought for what was right and came to less fortunate peoples rescues, they never came for him, why should they after all he was not in any trouble. He deserved everything he got.


	3. Chapter 3

On Sunday morning when Troy woke up he was sore all over from sleeping on the hard marble floor in the cramped space. The cupboard was about a metre and a half in width and a metre in depth. The space didn't used to bother him however in the last year he had added ten centimetres to his height and quite a bit of height so it was making the cupboard a tight fit all around.

He stood up in the cupboard and stretched noticing that the throbbing on his back side was just a dull pain now. His father would not be disciplining him today so his backside would not pain him until tomorrow morning. Getting hit with the strap for his morning discipline always hurt more on Mondays as it came on top of the caning but Troy was never known for complaining.

He moved his head to the sides trying to get the kinks out of his neck. He listened to see if could hear his father and figure out what time it was and how long before he was let out. He needed to use the bathroom and soon. He deducted that he could not hear his father and therefore it must still be pretty early in the morning. It looked like he had a few more hours to go.

He carefully slid down the wall to sit on the floor. As his bottom touched the floor he couldn't help but let out a gasp and was grateful that his father used the strap on him for his daily discipline and not the cane otherwise he would not be sit all day in class. Even now there was his weird homeroom teacher Mrs. Darbus who on occasion asked him if he was ok. She especially seemed to notice the days that his father used extra discipline. He tired his hardest to keep still while he was in her class. He liked her despite her weirdness and didn't want her to look at him pity when she found out he was an idiot.

He first taught through all of his assignments that were due tomorrow. He pretty much had a photographic memory when it came to his assignments and he decided what he should add and subtract to his history paper. After that was done he went through some of his favourite chapters in his favourite books and then some of the songs he loved to sing.

Unfortunately for him he had fallen back asleep when his father came to let him out. He came to when there was light behind his eye lids that were almost painful then he woke up instantly when his father threw a glass of water at his face. He shook the water out of his hair as left himself being lifted up by the front of his t-shirt.

"Not only are you a thick headed you are lazy as well. You have had all this time to sleep and rest however when I come to let you out what do I find?"

Troy said nothing, his father was right. His father shook him before letting go. "Well what did I find boy?"

"I was sleeping sir," said Troy looking up at his father.

"And what does that amply?" asked his father.

"That I am lazy," whispered Troy transferring his gaze to the floor.

"And..." prompted his father.

"and... and...st.. stu... stupid" got out Troy with difficulty feeling more stupid then he was.

"Good at least you know what you are," said his father. "Now you can make yourself useful and go cleanup," Troy moved away without begin told and moved downstairs. "And don't you eat anything before the whole space sparkles!" called his father after him.

He went downstairs and the first thing he did was visit the bathroom and brush his teeth. He looked at the clock in the kitchen; it was just after eleven o'clock, good he had over five hours to get everything done.

He made his father breakfast without being told and then set out to clean up last night's poker game in the family room, the living room where the football game was watched, made a late lunch for his father and then set out to clean the backyard where the barbeque had taken place. His stomach was growling, he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast yesterday and he had eaten very little for that as well as dinner on Friday night. Normally his father had no rules about eating; he was welcome to eat anything he wished that was in the kitchen however he was caught sleeping this morning which merited punishment.

He moved to the kitchen next and started to clean it. He hated it when others came into his kitchen and made a mess. When he was done it was twenty minutes to four and he knew that they would leave in ten minutes. He went to the bathroom and took a much needed but quick shower and when he came out he saw that his father had deposited the clothes he was to wear. He put them on and towel dried his hair and was by the door waiting for his father with a minute to spare.

They went to the local super market and his father sat at the cafe outside the shop and he went in. He was responsible for the shopping and all the things they would need for the week. He used to have a list that his father provided however in the last two years it was his responsibility to know what was needed. He was punished if something they needed ran out in the week however it was rare that his father came into the kitchen or demanded a certain thing to eat so even if they did run out Troy made do with what was available. He also liked the freedom to the shopping then he could add small things to the shopping list such as the fresh batteries he need for Saturdays.

After getting the shopping done and placed in the car he went and told his father that he was done. On the way back home he was dropped off at Mrs. Watsons that gave him his weekly piano lessons. He normally looked forward to his lessons however this week he was starving to concentrate on anything.

He didn't even realise that Mrs. Watson had left the room until a plate with two sandwiches was placed on the piano in his line of vision. He stopped and looked at her.

"I can't hear what you are playing with your stomach growling all the time" she said with a smile on her face.

"I can't..." he said with his eyes on the plate and mouth watering.

"Of course you can. I am your teacher therefore I am telling you need to eat this so we can continue with our lesson and besides what your father doesn't know won't hurt him." She reached over to the plate she had placed on the piano and held it out to him and made a little gesture with it for him to take it.

Troy gingerly reached for the plate and in no time gobbled down the two sandwiches and was handed a tall glass of milked that appeared while he was eating which he used to help him swallow the sandwiches. After he was done he handed the plate back to Mrs. Watson and smiled a shy smile at her.

She smiled at him "well now let's see how you have gotten along with the piece this week?"

Mrs. Watson knew that she would never have the opportunity like tutoring someone like Troy and realised that he had surpassed her almost four years ago in his skill for the piano. She knew he was one of those that came once in a life time. Not surprising when you considered who his mother was. She had tried to tell his father years ago to get him a better piano tutor but he had refused and told her that if couldn't handle Troy then perhaps Troy shouldn't be taking any lessons. He was no good anyway.

Then and there she had known something was wrong and after sometime she had deducted that Mark Thompson didn't like Troy to have anything of his mothers. Would have preferred him to be a basketball star rather than a pianist and she on occasions saw that Troy was roughed up a bit and was being punished by not being fed but over the years Troy had assured her that it was always his fault. he was done something or another wrong that day.

She wanted Troy to continue to play and feared that if she spoke up more his father would insist that Troy stop playing. So she kept quiet and let Troy come to her house on Sundays and just let him play the piano for two hours on occasion giving him pointers but wasn't able to do much more.

They knew their time was up when they heard the car horn go off to let them know that Mark was here. Troy thanked her and got in the car with his father. Without a single word his father drove home. When they got home Troy got the shopping from the back of the car and carried them inside. He knew that his father would have gotten anything that might have spoiled and placed them bags and all in the fridge. Next half hour he spent putting the things away.

Then he made a light dinner for his father and none for himself as he was not told otherwise. He served his father and sat down to finish his assignments for school. Cleaned up after him and studied some more. Around ten he was told to go to bed which he did without asking why and knew that another week was done. He would get up in seven hours to a new week and do it all over again. At least there was four weeks to summer vacation.


	4. Chapter 4

_When I started to write this story I actually started with the chapter that had the Bolton's finding out about Troy and him moving into their house. However I thought that Troy needed a little bit of back story and I dislike stories that flashback so I wrote a chapter, one became two then four... there is two more chapters to go before Troy finally ends up at the Bolton's.  
I am curel, things will get worse for Troy in the next chapter before getting better. Be warned!_

Troy looked forward to and also dreaded the summers. Since he was four he and his father spent the summers in a country house and vineyard in Provence France.

The house belonged to his mother's uncle and upon his death before he was born to his mother. His mother had lost her parents when she was a teenager and spent her summers at this house with her uncle and winters at different private schools around Europe and America. She came from old money and probably would not have gone into the music business if her parents were alive.

Unfortunately for Mark her trust and will had been very clear, everything had been left to Troy; the vineyard and house in France, an apartment in New York overlooking central park, a house in Beverly Hills, a mountain retreat in Aspen as well as a load of money in various trusts and foundations around the world. Of course Troy was never told about the fact that he had about 10 million dollars waiting in real estate and another 6 in trust for him and he could start using it when reached 18 and would have control of the money and estates when he reached 21.

And if Mark could help it he would never get his hands on anything his beautiful wife had.

They always travelled to France as soon as school was out. This year his father had managed to get tickets out on Saturday just after school closed. He would get himself a first class ticket and Troy would be left stuck in Economy right in the middle of the middle seats.

They landed in Paris early on Sunday morning and after they got off the plane there was a car waiting for them. They got in and did the 8 hour drive. Normally the drive would have taken 5 hours but his father always got lost and cursed the whole way.

Troy actually knew the way and once when he was 11 had actually told his father which way to go. His father had looked over at him and turned the other way. When he had reached a quiet and a deserted part of the road had pull aside, got out of the car and dragged Troy out as well. When he had taken Troy a little way of the road he had proceeded to beat the crap out of him. Normally his father was more controlled and organized and only went at Troy if he was really mad. On this occasion he had proceeded to punch Troy in the stomach until he had fallen on the ground then he had continued to kick him until he had cracked a rib and the area was a dark colour for weeks.

So when his father made a wrong turn that would add an hour to their way Troy scooted down in his seat and kept quiet. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep as he was jet lagged and there were a lot of things waiting for him to do when they finally got home and a little rest would go a long way.

He was dozing when they arrived at the little town that was near their near their house and pulled into the little convenience store that would provide their needs for the next three months. They got out of the car and went into the store. They were greeted by the shop keeper who only talked to his father. The owner a Monsieur Paul-Henri looked his way and made eye contact but didn't say anything to him.

His father spoke French in the manner that he actually did not speak it but they had been coming here for the last ten years the Monsieur knew what they needed and wanted and had them ready to go.

They got many of their supplies and carried them to the car. Then had a silent lunch slash dinner at the local café that they went to when they came to town and were on their way to their home. It was late in the afternoon when they got there and while his father was all for carrying their bags and shopping to the car at the airport and town he did not help Troy in the unloading. Troy carried all the bags inside. His father had four suitcases that went up to his bedroom upstairs.

This particular house was small compared to their winter house. The biggest part of the house was the vine cellar in the basement and Troy was thankful for not sleeping in it as it was damp and dusty. It had an impressive wine collection that no one was allowed to touch. The reason for that was that all the wine belonged to Troy and as he was underage in America and still in France if more than a few bottles disappeared then the estate lawyer would be all over Mark. The estate lawyer being a French man thought it was ok for Mark to share a few bottles of wine with Troy over the summers but not many. He of course never knew that Troy didn't even get to smell the wine. Troy was just grateful that the wine cellar was a place he didn't have to clean and the only reason he didn't sleep down there was that Francis was known to wonder into it without letting anyone know.

The house on the other hand had three bedrooms upstairs with a single bathroom, downstairs had a nice size living room, study, a huge library, two bathrooms, country style big kitchen and a tiny bedroom that was more like a closet then a bedroom which of course was Troy's room.

He took his only duffel bag to this room. The room had space for a mattress on the floor, squeezing space between the mattress and the door and a slight space at the end of the bed where his duffel went. He would unpack his duffel later and just keep the things he had on the floor as the only furnishings he had in his room was the mattress and the headless light by his bed. He took of his travelling clothes and put on his standard sweat pants and t-shirt, left his shoes and socks in the room and went to unload the rest of the car.

The rest of the stuff in the car went into the kitchen. He plugged in the fridge and put the things that needed to go into it. The rest of the boxes he left and opened the one of the cupboards and took out the necessary cleaning supplies and went upstairs. Meanwhile his father was throwing open all the windows and doors and removing all the sheets on the furniture and throwing them on the floor.

First he cleaned the bathroom as his father would be coming up to take a bath in a little while. As he was cleaning he couldn't help but notice that he must have done a good job last summer on the final cleaning as dust was the only thing in the bathroom. Next he went into his father bedroom and continued to clean. After scrubbing the floor he dragged the carpet he had rolled up and left under the bed and put it on the floor, he would vacuum it later tomorrow. He didn't dare open the windows, as that was something his father liked to do. He took the comforter he had left on the bed for the winter and went to the cupboard where the sheets were kept. He carefully made his father's bed and made sure to scrub the upstairs hall way as it connected the bathroom to the bedroom. As he was making his way down his father was going up. He collected all the sheets his father had thrown on the floor and folded them and put them away in the laundry room just of the kitchen to be washed and used for next winter.

For some reason he couldn't fathom this house had no cleaning schedule and Troy could decide what was to be done and when. Before going to bed he decided to tackle the kitchen as that would be place he would need tomorrow. He started by empting all the cupboards and cleaning them and washing all that was in the cupboards. This particular house had no dishwasher but to his surprise hot water in available in the kitchen which came handy when you were doing the dishes.

He heard his father as he made his way from the bathroom to his bedroom. He would go to bed and wake up late the next day therefore affectively getting rid of the jet lag. After the cupboards came to suffices and then the floor then he placed everything they had gotten in the cupboards. He moved through the house and closed many of the windows and doors before going and having a much needed shower and falling onto his bed that picked up a load of dust but he couldn't care less as he was exhausted and fell asleep right away.

He woke up the next morning to sun light that came through his little window and for a moment wondered where he was. When he remembered, got up and decided that cleaning his room might be a good idea. He cleaned the room which didn't take every long and emptied his duffel and placed everything he had on the floor at the end of his bed. After putting on shorts (it was summer after all) he went to the kitchen and had breakfast by himself. He knew it would be a few hours before his father got up.

He went out on to the patio that was just outside the kitchen, it had an incredible view of the vine country below, this is where his father would be having his breakfasts and lunches. The white iron furniture with a beautiful table that had a very heavy marble top was faithfully waiting there. It looked like they needed a fresh coat of paint and Troy put that on his list of things he needed to do. He got the hose after unlocking shed and proceeded to wash the patio and sweep it down. He made sure to wash the iron furniture and left them to dry.

Then he went in and slowly started to clean. It would take him three none stops days to clean the whole house if his father let him and sooner it was done the better. He was dusting the study when his father made his way down with his laptop and went outside. They didn't get any American newspapers here unless they went to the bigger town that was an hour away so his father followed the news on the net. He went into the kitchen and first served his father coffee and then made him breakfast. He continued to clean and soon heard Monsieur Francis and his wife Marie exchanging greetings with his father.

Monsieur Francis Maskeet was the gentleman who took care of the vineyard. He had done the job for years and it was in his mother's uncle will that he be kept on the job, not that Mark could do anything about it as the estate belonged to Troy anyway and he was only the trustee capable of keeping and making small decision but no major changes. The estate made a boutique vine that sold very well in the local market as well as had its own following on the web. They only produced a few hundred bottles a year however the money they got kept the estate and the Maskeet's in relatively good shape as well as have money left over that went into Troy's ever growing trust. After about a 20 minute conversation the Maskeet's got up to leave, Francis stuck his head in the house and shouted a greeting to Troy and left without waiting for an answer.

After they had gone, his father came into the house deposited his laptop on one of the tables and told Troy to go upstairs. Troy went upstairs to the second biggest bedroom which he assumed would have been his if he was a normal boy. He took of his t-shirt and without being told lied down on the bed on his stomach. He placed his hands under his head turned his head away from the door and waited. It seemed he always waited for his father in one position or another. As he breathed in a lungful of dust he considered that maybe this should be one of the places he should clean first rather than last. He felt like laughing out loud at his bizarre train of thought like he didn't know what was coming and as if the heavens themselves were reminding him of his place and position in life his father came in.

Mark stood staring at the boy who had destroyed his life, if it wasn't for him he would be here right know with Claire and enjoying a beautiful summer as they had done countless of times before this thing was born. Claire was ecstatic about being pregnant and made great plans for the unborn. Mark wondered if she would still had been that ecstatic if she knew that this thing would kill her after an agonizing 27 hours of labour. He was sure she would be upset as he was; after all they were soul mates; thought and felt the same things. He would make this boy feel the pain he felt at losing his mate and also the pain his mate went through to bring him into this world.

He took of his belt and swung it to hit the boy on his back again and again for a long time. Troy bit into the comforter to keep silent and couldn't help the tears that ran down his face, if he was lucky his father would not ask him to stand up afterwards and see the tears then he would be punished on top of being disciplined. Since it was summer and there was no one around for miles his father could be free and not restricted in the discipline he used on him.

Mark stopped after he drew blood and thought that he would need a new fix soon as belting the boy was not as satisfactory as it was in the past.

"Tomorrow you go on schedule" was what he told the boy as he left him sobbing on the bed and went outside for a walk. Troy didn't know how long he lied there in agony not being able to move, his back was on fire and he couldn't even move his arms and it would be worse for the next few days with the pain. The pain would get better by the end of the week and that is when his father probably would decide to give him another belting. Of all the discipline his father used on him he least liked the belt. Maybe it was because it was only in summer times that he got it and his body was not used it as it was to the others. After a while he got up and continued what he was doing, if he didn't then he would receive punishment addition to the discipline.

The schedule for the summer was similar to the rest of the year with the exception of Troy not going to school. He would get up an hour later then he did which was 6 o'clock, after all it was summer holiday, get in two hours of physical workout which was difficult when your whole back was vibrating with pain. He would then make breakfast and receive his morning due in the kitchen by holding onto the counter. During the summers his father liked to make him wait more so then usual as Troy would find himself waiting by the kitchen island for over half an hour with his shorts lowered before his father came.

Then it was on with the cleaning and the maintenance of the house. Troy often felt like the maid or one of the princesses in fairy tales that were forced into servitude by their evil stepmothers however he knew his case was not the same. He wasn't a damsel in distress or someone that needed to be gotten rid of by an evil plot to take everything he had, he had nothing.

He was slow, stupid and useless and slightly autistic according to the doctor his father took him to see when he was little; it was something that went on his school records and why his father was always notified of his behaviour in school also another embarrassment for his father.

If cleaning was one of the ways he could repay his father for all the time and effort his father put into to make him normal then so be it. His father often told him that he would not amount to anything and would end up as domestic help or the janitor of some place. Troy wondered if these were things he should be ashamed of because he had the utmost respect for the cleaning staff at school and if he could not amount to anything, he would be lucky to be domestic help or janitor to someplace. Of course if anyone would hire him like he was, unable to follow instructions and being slow but these things would come later, his father had often told him that he would keep Troy close for a while yet so he would not be an embarrassment to the family when his idiocy was finally relieved.

Troy cleaned until lunch and afterwards was left to fend for himself until the afternoon which was one of the reasons why he looked forward to the summers. After a few days he was finished with the main cleaning of the house and he would always end up in the library. The library belonged to his great uncle and was someplace his father never went into. It had hundreds of books in 4 languages excluding the Latin collection as his great uncle was fluent in English, French, German and Italian. Troy could read all the English and French books as he too was fluent in both.

He had been spending his summers in France since he was four and his father had told him to learn the language since then. He even had a tutor that came the first 4 years but his father had told him he was too stupid to learn the language and dropped the tutor not realizing or caring that by that time Troy was already a fluent speaker of French.

Since then he had kept up with his French as not only he liked to read the books in the library he liked the language itself. He took French in school as a second language since he was in grade one. It was an optional choice in school and his father had enrolled him in it and apparently forgot about it.

Now in school he was in a special class that had 3 other students in it that were natives. He didn't dare tell his father who upon hearing the word special would lay into him like no other. He only knew that Troy took French however he never asked for Troy's help while in France. Since he started high school this year and was considered a bi-lingual rather than a second language speaker to French he was offered a third language. He had picked Italian as he knew there were many books in that language in the library and German was not on offer. He also took Latin as an optional class as he figured if there were so many books in a dead language it couldn't be that dead.

He typically spent 4 hours in the library just reading books. This year he looked through the Italian ones to see if could read any of them, he found a children's book that he could grasp was thrilled.

After his delightful 4 hours he went to make dinner. During dinner which over the summers they had together in the kitchen he listened to his father rant the whole way through about him being a burden for his father to carry for the rest of his life. Troy hoped that would not be case, surely he could come to a point where could have a job where he could keep up the pretence of being normal and his father no longer would have to discipline and punish him. He prayed that he could at least learn that much and his father could have the peace and quiet he was craving since he was born. He was known to have his afternoon rants on how noisy Troy was and how he couldn't concentrate at all with Troy's constant noise.

After dinner Troy put in a 3 hour work out which his father supervised on the basketball court that was built for his father when he had married his mother. His father constantly told Troy what he was doing wrong and telling him to do it again and again and if he couldn't get it, it was 70 suicides before he was told to go though the movement again.

Later when they were done and Troy had taken a shower he would practice the piano. He loved the piano in this house; it was a Bosendorfer grand and was wonderful to play. He didn't get regular lessons over the summer as he did back home but he loved the sound this paticular instrument made.

His father didn't know but Troy also got the piano tuned by a local every summer, the only price, Philip, a man of 70 years old, demanded was to listen to Troy play. And Troy would play for the gentleman for a few hours, feed him dinner and thank him. Philip always thanked him for the pleasure and Troy never understood why after all he didn't have the talent for playing the piano just practiced a lot and followed the notes on the paper. After his practice Troy would receive his hits to his palms for being talentless which proved his earlier thinking and was sent to bed.

This summer his father was stricter with him than any other summer he could remember. He got ten fast, hard hits every morning instead of the normal five, was asked to practice more and more by his father each night on the basketball court running more suicides then he could count and got four hits onto each hand before bed instead of the normal two. And in the two weeks they had been here he was belted four times and gotten the chair treatment as he called the flogging his father carried out on his feet two times. He was in agony. The flogging was something his father never practiced on him in summers and left Troy wondering what was wrong.

He was also never taken into town. His father always went once a week at least to get supplies and would always take Troy with him. Of course he was told to stay quiet and keep his head down but he really enjoyed himself in the out goings. Madam Diane who ran the local cafe always gave him ice-cream when hsi father was not looking. This summer although his father had gone into town five times Troy was not invited along.

Maybe his father was worried that he was not improving and was trying to get him back on the level of his classmates. Troy thought that maybe he should look over his text books from last year and start in on next year's instead of idly reading in the library in the afternoons.

Nevertheless what he looked forward to eagerly every summer came 17 days after they arrived. His father announced that he was going back to the States for a while and Troy fought with every inch of his being not to break out into a devastating smile. His father would be gone for two weeks at least maybe three and Troy would be left alone in the house. He was still told to keep to the house and keep to the schedule which he did anyways but he would be left alone which meant no discipline. He would be visiting the Maskeets, and would get the opportunity to sneak into town and have ice cream. Life at that moment was good.


	5. Chapter 5

_The last chapter was a tribute or a rant if you wish for our summer place. I love our summer house believe me wouldn't change it for the world, always look forward to my time there. Once I was travelling to India from there and was almost intears about leaving the place.  
However the place is imposibble to open up and close. Takes days before you can sit down and enjoy the summer. Now I know I am spolied maybe its my culture but I have never done house work because never needed to, always had help. Even in college when it was my turn to do the cleanning got a lady to do it. My mother has a lady who comes before we even go to the summer place to have it cleaned takes her two full days to clean it and our house is not big! Then when you get there, there are a million things to do.  
I beleive it would be a lot of work for a 14 year old to cope with._

**This chapter contains abuse of a minor (more so then the previous chapters) - you have been warned! You can always skip to the next chapter, from there on it would only be angst for Troy.**

His father's bag was down by the door, an indication that he would be leaving early next morning. While Troy looked forward to his father leaving he really wished that today he was somewhere else, his father would be really hard on him today.

Needed to be extra hard on him so he would not stray as he was not here to keep an eye on him, he made blue berry pancakes hoping to put his father in a better mood and after finding the littlest thing he could do in the kitchen and taking care of it there was nothing left for him to do. He was wiping the counter down probably for the tenth time when he turned around and his father was standing there. His eyes got bigger as he froze where he was; rule number one was always to be ready.

"You need to get over here" his father told him. He moved gingerly around the island in the kitchen and stood facing his father. "You know I do all this for your own good. If I didn't who would care for you?"

"I know sir, I'm really sorry I was just cleaning up and was not finished on time" he whispered in a voice he hoped would not break.

His father signed "you know it means extra discipline when you pull something like this but you do it anyway." If Troy was not looking down at the floor he would have noticed the hungry and slightly mad glint that came over his father's eyes, he was enjoying this.

"I....I am..... sorry sir, it won't happen again."

"You always say that boy, but you being too dim-witted you do it again and again. I don't know how else to drive this into your brain!" said his father flicking Troy's head with a finger. "Rule one is that you should be ready for your discipline! Got it?" Troy stayed silent looking down.

After a minute his father signed again. "Well what are you waiting for? Turn around!" Troy quickly did as he was told turning around and lowering his shorts. "You might as well lower your underwear as well and bend over the table instead while you are at it". Troy swallowed slowly and did as he was told, he had already known that this morning was going to be harsh but now he had idiotically made it more difficult for himself. It just confirmed that he was stupid. His father left him in that position and went away and Troy didn't know how long he waited but without moving he did.

Mark walked around the house thinking about what misery he could inflict on the boy. He needed something to give him a better satisfaction then the normal things he did. As he was going though the study he noticed the horse riding whip that was standing by the side of the room. Perfect, it belonged to his wife as she loved horses and used to have horses here on the estate, it would be the ideal instrument to use on the boy.

He left the boy waiting for over twenty minutes before going into the kitchen and standing behind him. He made sure that he walked though the boys' line of vision so from his face on the table where he was facing the wall the boy was sure to see what he had in his hand. Troy heard the swish of the whip as it sliced through the air to hit him on his buttocks and knew that he was being introduced to a new discipline method. And that it hurt.

"I would like you to count them" said his father as he hit him again. For a moment Troy couldn't comprehend what he was to count. His father hit him a third time and said, "the hits you stupid boy, I want you to count the hits so you remember the lesson better." And he was hit again, "well I am waiting"

"err... four" he was hit harder. "Wrong, wrong and wrong!" each word was accompanied by a new hit varying from hitting him on the buttocks to the back of his thighs. Troy grabbed the sides of the table trying very hard not to move. Each hit was a new line of fire on his already sore backside.

"When you start counting you always start with one, you should at least know that!" and his father hit him and said "let's try it again" and hit him again and said "start"

"one" whispered Troy just loud enough to be heard, his father never had asked him to be vocal before, perhaps he wanted Troy take more responsibility in his own discipline.

"NO!" and he was hit again, this time he stayed silent as he didn't know the answer.

"It is 'one sir'" informed his father as he received yet another hit. "Let's try a third and final time shall we boy? Start!" and Troy received a hit to his sitting spot.

"One sir,"

"two sir,"

"three sir,"

"four sir," and on it went until Troy wasn't sure around the tens, if it was supposed to be thirteenth or fourteenth. His brain supplied that it was the 25th one actually but that didn't help.

"If you cannot even count from 1 to 15 boy what am going to do with you? And by the way if you mess up the count, we'll just have to start again won't we?" hissed his father voice pure of venom. But Troy was in too much pain to notice the tone his father used but read between the lines, this would stop when he reached fifteen. His brain which worked in ways that his father didn't approve provided him with the answer. He was actually on the 25th hit and he hadn't properly started counting until the eleventh so he was on the fourteenth hit. "I am waiting, give me an answer or we start again from one!"

"fourteen sir," he said his voice a little louder than it was. He hoped it was right and that they were almost at the end. His father always gave his best effort to the last hit and Troy knew he had deducted right when his father stopped.

"fifteen sir," he said and didn't dare move before his father gave him the ok. He could feel his body trembling and he thanked whatever it was that he hadn't started crying.

"Get up and look at me!" ordered his father and Troy did as he was told carefully pulling up his underwear and shorts. Perhaps once his father was gone he could get away with wearing no underwear for a few days until he felt better. "Today I would like the whole floors and carpets scrubbed, god knows what you would get up to once I leave you alone. The least I can do it to assure that this much is done properly."

So Troy spent the time until lunch on his hands and knees scrubbing away on the floors he had cleaned the previous day. He was told to carry on after serving his father lunch and not stop to have lunch. After his father had his lunch he was told to go upstairs and this time he did not hesitate in taking of his t-shirt and lying down on the bed face down. He was once again told the count and his father drew blood on the 18th count and seemed quite disappointed however did not give Troy the rest he usually gave him after a belting and dragged of the quietly sobbing boy of the bed and deposited him on the floor where he had left off the scrubbing.

He continued to clean well after dinner again only stopping to serve his father and not have any for himself. It was almost midnight when he was done. When he was told to sit on the chair in the kitchen, Troy felt like bursting into tears once again. He couldn't take a whipping, a belting and a flogging in the same day. But his father didn't seem to care as he lifted his foot and told him to count. He lost count on two occasions on his right foot and had to start again and three times on his left foot, the entire time his father screamed at him for being stupid enough for not even being able to count to 10.

After his father was done he was told to stand up and hold out his hands, he looked stupidly at his father, surely he could not be serious.

"I want to show you something" said his father in a pleasant voice as he grabbed Troy up the front of his t-shirt and set him on his feet. He was swaying and tears he could no longer hold were streaming down his face but he managed to remain on his feet.

"Come on hands out" demanded his father losing some of his pleasantness. Troy held out his hands.

"Now stay still or else" was the warning he got and his father hit them both at the same time. Troy used every inch of his will power that was left to keep his hands out in front of him, he was exhausted and in excruciating pain however he didn't want to find out what "or else" was. His father counted in a loud clear voice until he reached ten. "See how simple it is to count to ten even a three year old could do it!" Troy just stood there with his hands out in front of him sobbing quietly and not really comprehending anything.

"You can go now" he said but Troy just dropped his hands to his sides and stayed where he was. Mark signed and grabbed the boy sobbing boy by his arm and dragged him over to his room and dropped him on his bed and told him to go to sleep.

He got up the next morning at seven after one of the best sleeps he had gotten. He had dreamed about Claire and their time together. As he wondered over to the bathroom he noted that there was no smell of coffee. He took a shower, packed up his laptop and made his way down realizing that Troy was not up get. He went to the boy's room and opened the door and looked inside.

The boy's alarm clock was ringing at its loudest setting as it was one of those alarm clocks that didn't go into snooze mode for long time. The boy was sweaty and looked uncomfortable as he laid there on his side facing the wall in a slumber that clearly wasn't helping him at all. His t-shirt had ridden up his back and of the skin he can see was all red and looked inflamed. Mark considered that he may have over done it the day before but the relief he felt by the end of the day was like the first time he had hit the boy when he was three and he couldn't care less. The boy deserved it and so much more.

He knew the fix he got from yesterday would last him the few weeks away from the boy and it would give the boy a chance to heal. He left the alarm clock ringing and made his way out the door whistling a happy tune.


	6. Chapter 6

It was afternoon by the time Troy surfaced from his semi-conscious slumber. He couldn't move, he couldn't help but cry out as every cell in his body seemed to sending him the message that they hurt. He very carefully got out of bed and very very slowly made his way to the second bathroom downstairs.

In the bathroom there was a box were he removed all the old medication that his father had left upstairs over the years. He very carefully looked though the old pain killers his father had left and found one that was just over a few months past its last use date and swallowed four of them. He drank water from the tap by bending his head down to the tap and splashed his face with cold water.

He slowly made his way back to his room by holding on to the walls as he went. He opened his window to let in some air, took of all his clothes and laid down face first onto the mattress. He felt the cool afternoon air hit his back and ease his throbbing pain by a tiny fraction. After about twenty minutes he felt the pain killers kick in and his harsh breathing relax a little and was able to drift back to an uneasy sleep.

It was just getting light outside when he woke next, he was in the exact position he had fallen asleep in. He looked over at his clock and saw that it was just after 5 in the morning. The pain seemed to have settled into a power hum all over his body and he didn't want to move however he was starving. He got, up put on his oldest and looses pair of shorts only and walked very carefully to the kitchen. He hated the flogging he got to his feet as it made walking very painful and in this case almost impossible. He stopped every few seconds to lean against the wall and catch his breath.

When he reached the kitchen, heated up some soup for himself not caring it was time for breakfast and got some bread. Next he placed a pillow onto a chair and very slowly sat down. Normally it was a tossup whether it was his bottom or his feet that he should stay off of but today since everything hurt he thought his feet deserved the rest as they did the walking. He ate the soup by dunking in the bread and left the dishes in the sink and moved back to his room stopping by the bathroom and talking another dose of painkillers.

He caught sight of himself in the mirror above the sink and saw a pale miserable boy who had deep black circles under his eyes and looked back at him with dull blue eyes. "You deserve this," whispered a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his father and Troy agreed with it whole heatedly but was in too much pain to do anything about it. He moved back to his bed and fell back into an uneasy slumber.

For the next three days he only got up to go to the bathroom and eat something and it was on the fourth morning that he finally woke up tp his alarm clock in the morning (he had been hitting it closed) and the pain was down to a manageable throb.

He got up and put on his exercise clothes on for the first time in three days. He slowly made his way outside and went through a light workout. After taking a much needed shower as he hadn't taken one in four days he went into the kitchen to have breakfast. In the kitchen he saw the mess he had left behind as he only moved through there to satisfy his hunger. After having scrambled eggs and toast he set about cleaning the kitchen. Then he did light cleaning around the house after all his father had told him to stick to the schedule. He made sure to clean his room and change his sheets as they had become pretty disgusting with all the sweating he had done.

After lunch he decided that the Maskeet family was in for an overdue visit. He put on his only pair of jeans and a t-shirt, put on his socks and sport shoes that he used for his morning exercises. Made sure to close all the doors and windows and set out to walk the 15 minute walk to their house at the other end of the estate.

He had to stop several times on the way to rest his feet as they still hurt. However the trek was worth the pain because when he got there Marie ran out and gave him a hug and kissed him on both cheeks. Hugs were rare in Troy's world and he cherished them when they came his way.

Francis also came out to see what all the noise was about and when he saw that it was Troy gave him a bear hug too. They knew that his father did not like Troy to socialise with them claiming that they were simple folk and Troy was not meant to sink to their level. Actually said that to their face more than once however when his father was not there Troy came to visit them.

They knew that this was a secret and never said anything but welcomed Troy into their house.

The Maskeets were an elderly couple with all their children grown up and moved away. They had meet Claire when she was a teenager and was sullen and quiet after losing her parents. But in the following years they had known her they had seen her blossom into a remarkable young woman who talked nonstop and loved life.

After her uncle died she had kept everything the same, claiming that you needed some place to call home and come back to. She had become part of the family and she made sure to stop by every summer.

She had brought back the charming Mark Thompson one summer and told them that she was getting married. They always came back for the summers after that, swimming in the pool, riding horses, playing tennis and basketball and looking over the vineyard.

She had claimed that she would bring back all her children to this house so they too would be affected by the magic off the were devastated when they had found out that she had died at child birth and thought that they would never see the child she bore.

After about four years they had gotten a call from the estate lawyers saying that Mark was bringing his son for a visit. They had been over pleased to be finally meeting Claire's little boy.

He was not what they had expected. He was a quiet little boy that had perfect manners who never talked but just sat there next to his father not even kicking his feet as other little children his age would have done.

His father had inquired about getting a French tutor for him so he would have something to do for the summer. Francis at the time had wondered why a little boy who had so much garden space to run around in, a swimming pool, a tennis court, a basketball court and more trees then he could possibly climb would need something to do.

Over the years they had returned every summer and Francis had seen the boy crashed a bit more each summer but couldn't do anything about it.

After a few years Mark had started to leave the boy alone at the house. Francis was angry beyond anything when he had found out that a nine year old had been left alone all by himself and called Thompson to give him a piece of his mind however two days later he had gotten a very threatening letter from Thompson's lawyer to mind his own business if he wanted to keep his job.

Francis had done something he would always feel guilty about. He was putting a child through university and hoping to do the same for the other one and if he had lost his job he would not have been able to find one that would give his children the same benefits as this one. So he had sacrificed a child who clearly needed help for the sake of his own children's future.

The next summer he had found the ten year old Troy wondering around the vineyard when his father had once again left. It had taken quite a while to get him to talk even come over close to him. It was like trying to coax a wild animal to come closer.

He had told Troy all about the vine making process and his uncle and it had taken a year for him to come over to their house to have something to eat.

However it was another two years before he showed up at their house for a visit all by himself.

So they tried to give him what they could when he showed up but Francis knew that they were too late for some things. Troy spoke less and less every year and he would not be surprised if one day Troy just stopped talking. So Francis made up for the silences by speaking more than necessary both to cover the uncomfortable silences and the guilt he felt.

XXXXXXX

His father had been gone for ten days and Troy wanted to go into town, if he waited any longer he ran the risk of his father being back and he didn't want to find out what his father would do to him if he wasn't at the house when he came back. After breakfast he got dressed similar to what he wore everyday as he didn't have a lot of choice, jeans, t-shirt and scurfy sports shoes.

When he was going on these outings without his father's knowledge he didn't want to wear the t-shirt and shoes he wore for travelling just in case his father noticed that they were more worn out then the original. He wouldn't put it past his father to check.

The town was a half hour car ride away, Troy could make it in just under an hour and half when he cut through some of the neighbouring estates however he still hurt in places so he decided to walk from the road in a leisurely pace hoping that maybe he could catch a ride.

And as a matter of fact he had been walking for half an hour when a car slowed down and stopped right beside him. To his luck they were American Tourist looking for the town and were quite lost and gave him a ride into town for directions.

After he was in town he stopped by the convenience store.

"Bonjour Monsieur Paul-Henry"

(in french) "_Well well well if it isn't the lost boy, I figured we would never see you this year. Saw your father come into town a few times, I think he told me that you didn't feel up to the trip or something. I was starting to get worried,"_ said Paul-Henry looking Troy up and down to assess how he was.

The boy looked alright to the outside eye but Paul-Henry noticed that he was tense and you could tell he was in pain from the lines around his eyes. He also tried to stay on the sides of his feet rather than the soles whatever was that bastard doing to the boy? Whatever it was it was never visible on the boys face or anywhere else but he knew there was something.

Paul-Henry had known for a while that something was wrong with Claire's boy. He remembered the fireball American girl that came to town to see her uncle over the summers. Troy had her ocean blue eyes and her dirty blond hair and looked more like her every summer. If someone could create a version of themselves in the opposite sex Troy would have been it. While she was heart breaking beautiful Paul-Henry could tell that Troy was going to be a heart throb when he reached adulthood. However while her eyes always shone with life and mischief her sons eyes were dull and looked liked they had seen too much for a boy his age.

And last summer Paul-Henry had been to see the authorities to see if they could do something about the abuse he knew the boy suffered. He was told that since they were Americans he would have to make his complaint to the American consulate in Paris. Paul-Henry had never been outside the little town he was born in going to Paris had seen very frightening.

However he had convinced the chief of police to look into it saying that if there was any merit to it and a child was in trouble why should they have to have countries diplomacy between them. The police chief had driven to the house to have a chat with the Thompsons, and had come back with negative results. It looked like Troy would have to make the complaint for them to do anything and as he had not told them anything their hands were tied.

Paul-Henry had not seen Troy for the next three weeks and feared the worse. He had even driven up to make an early delivery to see the boy and found him washing the patio outside.

His father had come out and made a comment about working and helping around the house built up character. Of course he could have been saying anything with the way he butchered the language.

Troy looked every much like he did now, to the outside eye there was nothing wrong but Paul-Henry was sure that there was something wrong and he had braved the big city and during the winter he had made the dreaded trip to Paris and made an official complaint. But the wheels of justice seem to work slowly for the children that got lost in paper work because here after a year Troy stood in front of him and nothing had changed.

He signed and decided that he would do the best he can and keep an eye on the boy while he was here. They talked to for a bit more. Most of the time it was a one sided conversation as he did most of the talking giving him gossip from the town. Later he told him that he would have his weekly supplies and since his father was not there when he closed the shop at five he would drive Troy back home.

At that Troy gave him the tinniest of smiles and Paul-Henry told him to go see Diane who ran the little cafe in town.

"_She has been complaining that she was nothing nice to look at since you have not decided to grace us with your presence."_

At this Paul-Henry got a bigger smile as Troy left to shop to see if he could yet free ice-cream from the tight handed Diane who always seemed to have a soft spot for the boy who spent his summers here friendless.

A couple of days later Toy was reading outside under a tree when he heard a car drive up the drive way. It wasn't his father's car and no one drove up their drive way unless they knew where the house was so it can't possibly be lost tourists. He walked around to the drive way so he could see and saw the car as it came around the bend to stop by the house. Out of the car came four people, one female and three males. The woman he did not recognize as well as one of the men however he knew one of the other men was the French estate lawyer, Marcel something or another, who came by once or twice when they were in residence and he was sure that the other one was one of his father's lawyers from America.

"My father is not here," he told them without any greeting. Shouldn't they know or check before getting up and coming here. He knew his father would blame this on him. He was just recovering from his last discipline and felt like he could go on schedule but it would be very difficult to have a round of punishment especially if his father was to be here and he wouldn't have the recovery time.

The American lawyer moved forward and in a soothing voice said. "It's ok Troy, everything will be fine." What the heck was going on? What did these people want?


	7. Chapter 7

_This was actually the first chapter I had written for this story. It gives information on the Bolton's and how and why they have gotten custody of Troy. There is not a lot of Troy in it however he will be always be there from the next chapter onwards.  
As for Troy's actual father we will deal with him in a future chapter. _

Jack Bolton considered himself a good man. He loved his wife of 28 years who was a kindergarten teacher to start with but now ran her own kindergarten. He loved his job of coaching high school basketball. He had met his wife in high school and they were high school sweet hearts and had gotten married after graduation. They had gone off to university together.

They were happy. They were financially secured both having come from well off families and could do what they wanted with their lives and not worry about finances. The only thing that did not go right in the beginning of their marriage at first was that they had not been blessed with children although both had wanted a bundle even though they were still at college. They had tired at the beginning but after four years and countless of doctors they had finally accepted the fact they would not have children.

They had considered adopting children after graduation but when visiting an orphanage 23 years ago they come across a teen (if you could a 11 year old) that was considered too troubled and too old to be adopted and had to placed in a special foster home and needed just the extra amount of attention. They fell in love there and then and had decided to take this particular child into their home and many others like it afterwards. Over the years they had taken in eight such teens and raised them to adulthood. Five had gone off to university and they were all happy with their own lives.

It had not been easy. First in the beginning they were more like an older brother and sister to these teens and each had come with their own set of problems and needed a complete new approach to dealing with. Jack had to chase more than one of them at early hours of the night all over town and was more than once been called to the police station to pick up a particular child.

However at the end patience and love had won out and Jack and Julie saw their troubled foster children settle down and accept the fact that these two wacky people who had taken them in were not going to give up and care for them no matter what they did.

The walls of their house were filled with photos of special occasions from fishing trips, to graduation days, to weddings and births of newborns. They all considered Jack and Julie to be their family, while they all called them by their names all their children called them Grandpa and Grandma.

Their house became a mad house over Thanksgiving; a holiday all their foster children had decided was to be for their subrogate family. They all returned, six of them with their spouses and a total of seven grandchildren. Some had reconciled with their actual parents and some had their own family, so many went different directions for Christmas but they all showed up for Thanksgiving.

The most important thing was that they all knew that they could call this place home and could call or show up at all hours of the day to get help and advice or just hang out.

Jane who was their third foster child had found out that Jack and Julie would always be what a Mum and Dad should be like. When she was having trouble with university and she had run away just like she had done 10 years ago. She was over 18 and no longer their foster child, she also knew that they had taken on a new foster kid. However she couldn't think of running anywhere else. She had gotten off at the Albuquerque train station at three o'clock in the morning and called home and in 20 minutes Jack (Dad) had turned up to pick her up and Julie (Mum) was awake with hot chocolate ready to listen to her troubles. Five days later she had found herself on the train with Jack going back to university. He had settled her back into her dorm and had given her a kiss on the forehead and told her that they would see her over the holidays and she was to have a nice term. She realized right then there they were really her family and most importantly would always be her family.

Jack loved everyone one of his children. They all had a special place in his heart. He even got to met some of the actual parents and even kind of liked some of them. He would never forgive anyone of them for what they had done to someone they were supposed to protect and care for (not to mention love) but he had never hated anyone of them. However he thought that if he ran across their latest charges father he might be put away for murder. He really believed that he would murder this man for what he had done to his own son.

Jack knew that his feelings were getting the better of him and they showed on his face and his behaviour. They did not help as every time he saw the results of what that man did his eyes would get darker and he felt himself get madder. Of course this affected Troy who would try his hardest not to flinch but then would be more upset that he was weak and worthless and Jack couldn't even get to speak to him to explain because by then he retreated into his head expecting Jack to transform into his father and do unimaginable things to him. And the worst thing about it all was that Troy thought this kind of treatment from a parent was not only normal but expected.

Troy was their latest foster child and a child like they had never had or seen before. All the children they had taken in were troubled and trouble. They had cut school, hadn't been attending school for months, (one did drugs), they were all against authority and had been abused in someway in their life. However they were all fighting in some form or another.

Troy on the other hand had been broken. The man who called himself his father had shattered this wonderful boy. Troy was a straight A student who played an unbelievable piano. He was also one of the best basketball players Jack had ever seen in his career. His basketball and music skills were not surprising when you considered who his parents were but why would anyone try to destroy a child like him or any child was beyond comprehension in Jack's mind.

Troy father was a retired (after a knee injury) famous NBA basketball player who had fallen in love with a famous rich violinist. Their sensational dating and wedding had made headlines back in the day. The news that the famous violinist had died at child birth and that the father had moved to back to his home town of Albuquerque to raise his son had made even bigger headlines but as more interesting things popped up the stories had died out and the world had forgotten about the single father who secretly blamed his infant son for his wives death.

And that is where Troy's sad story had begun. Mark Thompson had deliberately had set up to destroy the little boy for taking away the love of his life. Unfortunately for Troy he was also very smart. He knew that if anyone had detected any signs of abuse he would lose the boy especially knowing that there were his wives lawyers still involved. So he set out to create the perfect son. A child behind closed doors that was so broken that he couldn't even tie his own shoes without permission. One who could take any sort of physical, verbal and mental abuse the sick bastard could think of and still look like perfection to the outside world.

No one knew how or when Thompson had decided to this however the therapist they were working with believed that Troy was subjected to it his whole life as he didn't know any other thing. On the outside Troy was perfect, went to school, got straight A's, his homework was exceptional, did sports and did extracurricular activities.

It was not until he had come to east high and met with a Mrs. Darbus that anyone had suspected anything wrong with him. Jack himself had not. He had seen what everyone else had seen; an exceptional student, who perhaps was a little too quiet and a little shy. With a few strange behaviours which when you went to the see the school counsellor about you were told that Troy was very slightly autistic. Nothing that would affect Troy's education, just when you looked deep enough to know that there was something wrong. Jack had believed that Troy would break out of his shell especially when he had made the junior varsity basketball team in his first year of highschool and probably make starting varsity the following. And as for his autism there was nothing that could be done about that.

How wrong he was.

It was the third week of summer when it happened. Jack had spent the summer so far looking after grandchildren and going fishing, playing golf with Dan and just enjoying what life had given him. They had no children at the moment as Maxim had graduated and moved onto campus to get a jump start on his education. Both Jack and Julie had asked him to stay over the summer however he was one of the wisest kids they had been blessed with. He had informed them that he was fine, knew he was loved and had a place where he belonged however the longer he stayed there was someone out there in pain and in more need of them than he.

Julie and he were considering opening their home to a new member and were waiting for child services to notify them. Jack always believed summer time was a good time to welcome new comers; they got to spend more time with their new charge and settle them in.

When Elenor Darbus knocked on his door one morning he was surprised, they were known for not getting along at school, her seeking him outside of school was strange.

"Do you have a minute Jack? I would like to speak with you and Julie."

"Of course Elenor, come on in" he had settled her in the back garden where there was a pool as well as a full basketball court while Julie had gotten her a glass of lemonade. "What can we do for you?"

She had gone on to explain that she had suspected that Troy Thompson who was in her homeroom was a victim of abuse since the moment she met him however she was sure of it sometime in spring and she had let the authorities know. Child services with the school counsellor help had made discreet inquires as Elenor Darbus was known to protect her students fiercely and had a sixth sense about these things. Also child services could not put of an investigation as she was not the only one who had come forward with suspicions, surprisingly the other complaint was made from someone in France and had taken some time to make its way to Albuquerque. The results were not good. The more careful the parents and the children were at hiding the abuse the more serious the case became.

Troy's mother was rich and she had left everything in trust for her son. When the child services were nosing around the trust lawyers had gotten involved and suddenly the case had found momentum. The child services had found out that the Thompson's were outside of the US and would have waited until they had returned to continue the investigation however the private law firm that had gotten involved and had actually managed to get Mark Thompson to confess. The firm had then sent a child services lawyer and social worker and two of their lawyers to France to retrieve Troy.

Jack couldn't help but think that when you were rich things went more smoothly however he wondered how long this had been going on and why they hadn't help the boy before now and what it had to do with them.

"As of three days ago, Troy has been removed from his home and brought back to Albuquerque. His father has been arrested and charged with miss treating his son. He awaits trial. Troy on the other is being psychologically evaluated to see what can be done about his abuse and where he can be placed but it looks like he would need help for a very long time."

"What does all of this have to do with us?" asked his wife. Jack knew what was coming and knew that their family might be extended with one before the week was out.


	8. Chapter 8

_Again not much of Troy in this chapter although they are talking about him.  
The begining of this chapter is a bit repetative as again it was written before the first ones and I had no idea about how to re-write to give the Bolton's enough information to help Troy.  
Sorry if it drags a little..._

It had not taken the Bolton's very long to be convinced to take Troy in. Troy had no other relatives and therefore was a ward of the state. Since their reputation and track record was well know in the child services the paper work had gone through with lightning speed and Troy had moved into their house two days later.

It had taken Troy three days after he had moved in before he had his first panic attack. No matter what Julie and Jack had said or tired to do hadn't seemed work and had made Troy worse. When his lips had started to turn blue Jack had called an ambulance and they had spent the night at Mercy General with Troy sedated for the night. The doctor had informed them that not only had Troy had a panic attack but he was also sleep deprived, probably hadn't slept the last few nights and that was what had made the attack worse. They had sedated him for the night so his body could at least get the rest he needed if not his mind. This information had shocked both Jack and Julie as they had not picked up on the fact that their charge was not sleeping.

Now they were back at the shelter were Troy had spent the first days away from his father talking to Meredith. He was once again with her. Jack was walking up and down one of the offices they were waiting in not knowing what to do. Already Troy had managed to make room for himself in his hearth and it was painful not being able to help.

"Jack you need to calm down. You know that he would pick up on our feelings and act according to them the moment we see him."

Jack looked over at his wife. God he loved this woman. She always knew what to say and no matter what the situation be had the children's best interest at heath. "It was been six hours Jules. Six hours! What could they be talking about that is taking this long?"

Meredith took that moment to walk into the room. She looked over at them both. She looked tired like she had suddenly aged, her eyes held unbelievable sorrow. Jack took a deep breath whatever it was it was worse than they had anticipated.

They had known Meredith for sometime even been with her family for social functions. She was the counsellor for troubled teens; saw them at the centre and privately outside as well. She had two teens herself and had adopted a troubled teen who had turned out to be quite the misunderstood genius. She had worked with Jack and Julie together with some of their foster children before however she didn't think they were ready to deal with this. She didn't think she was ready for this.

"Before we start I would like to say that you have the option of backing of..."

"What!?" said Jack. "No matter what it is we are not backing of. The moment Troy walked over our threshold he became part of our family and no matter what it is we'll deal with it!"

Meredith smiled a little smile. "I know you would. However Troy is going to need a lot of time, patience and attention from now to the time he can lead a relatively normal life. It is a lot to ask from anyone."

Jack was confused. "Would you like us to give up? You know we won't."

"I know you are not going to give up now but what about in six months when you are tired and Troy still needs your attention what then?"

"He'll get it!" Jack said and would have continued if it wasn't for Julie.

"Enough!" she said in a quiet but strong voice. She looked over at Meredith and addressed herself to her. "We took Troy in and if he needs to stay in our house in our care for the rest of his life that is fine. If we have to make changes to our lives to accompany him we would. We have never given up on a child just because they have reached 18 you know that. We have also never asked a child to fit into our lives we have always tried to become part of theirs so whatever it is Mer just spit it out and tell us what we can do to help him."

Meredith took a deep breath she knew they would have responded this way but she had wanted to make certain, she was sure if something were to happen to Troy while at the Bolton's they would never be able to pick up the pieces. "I cannot tell you everything that Troy and I talk about as that would be against patient and doctor privilege. I have told him what I would share with you in order to help him. He at the moment does not believe in what I would share with you, thinking I would be telling you everything. I hope in time I can earn his trust and he would learn that I do keep things between us and then we can make head way."

"Now I know the reasons for the panic attack and I know that we are not going to solve the problem over night," she said taking a seat and looking at Jack and asking him to take the hint and sit down.

"It seems that Troy has lived his entire life on a schedule of his father's making," Meredith stopped to let that one sink in, both Julie and Jack were nodding their heads however Meredith was sure they did not get it.

"I have asked him to write it out so it would be easier for us. There is a different schedule for winter and summer time as well as weekends in the winter. Here I will let you read through them and answer any questions you may have of them. I would like to emphasize that Troy followed the exact schedule everyday and there were no exceptions" With that she placed three pieces of paper on the table between them. They could see that Troy had perfect penmanship with straight neat military perfection letters. First sheet was a schedule for a week day in winter:

5:00 rise  
5:15 – 6:15 physical training  
6:30 – 7:00 make breakfast and lunch for school  
7:00 – Discipline

"What does he mean 'discipline'?" asked Jack.

Meredith looked over at him with pain filled eyes she knew that would have been the first question. "Mr. Thompson used corporal punishment on Troy in what Troy tells me to keep him in line." They knew that Troy had been physically abused so that particular news didn't shock them as much.

After a moment Jack asked "What does it mean to keep him in line?"

"Troy has yet to share with me the details of his delinquent behaviour his father blames him for, but my guess is it didn't take much to set his father of and he would have had impossible high standards for Troy to reach and it sounds like he would discipline Troy whether he was in the wrong or not."

"Every day?" asked Julie in a high voice.

"I am afraid every morning," answered Meredith and both Jack and Julie looked too shocked to answer. Beatena and abused they had known, everyday was a surprise. A minute later they returned their gaze to the paper and continued to read.

7:15 School bus  
8:10 – 3:10 School  
3:30 – 5:00 (Mondays and Wednesdays) basketball practice  
3:30 – home  
3:30 – Education and discipline

Again it was Jack who asked "Education?"

"Troy's father took some time everyday to remind Troy of his place in life," at that both of them looked over at her. "I don't know what he said exactly as Troy seemed reluctant to share it with me yet, but I know it can't have been good. One of the things Troy has shared with is that how much time his father had to spend on Troy and how much work he was." Meredith made eye contact with both of them before she continued. "This is important because Troy does not feel the right to any attention. For him no attention is good and any attention given to him is to correct him some way." Meredith took a deep breath and continued "this is one of the things we are going to work on but we can discuss all that after you have read through the schedules." With that she pointed back to the three sheets of paper.

– Chores  
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner  
7:00 – 9:00 – homework and study  
9:00 – 10:00 – piano practice  
10:00 – bed

Julie looked up after finishing reading "I am guessing that when he says chores we are not talking about our normal daily chores that we ask of children."

"It was Troy's job to clean the house, make breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was a way for him to pay for his keep and his expenses."

"The bastard expected Troy to pay for living in his own house and the basic necessities a child needs!?!" exclaimed Jack.

"Jack!" said Julie never expecting anger from her normally too calm husband.

"No, Julie it is fine, if you are going to be angry I would like it if you do it here and get it out of your system before interacting with Troy," said Meredith. "Please continue reading"

Next was the weekend schedule which was very short:

Saturday

6:00 – 10:00 rise, breakfast and prepare for guests  
11:00 – discipline and stay out of the way in room

Sunday

11:00 – clean house  
16:00 – shopping  
18:00 – 20:00 piano lesson  
20:00 – 22:00 – finish school assignments  
22:00 – bed

It was Julie that noticed the oddity in the weekend schedule "while the weekday schedule always mentions breakfast, lunch and dinner the only one mentioned in the weekend schedule was Saturday morning breakfast." It wasn't a question but Meredith knew what she was asking anyway.

"Troy has not made a comment about them, although I have asked. My guess is he didn't put them down either because he was not given them over the weekend or he wasn't sure if he would get them."

The pencil that was in Jack's hand broke and no one mentioned anything but continued to read the schedule for the summer.

6:00 – rise  
6:15 – 8:15 exercise  
8:30 – 9:15 breakfast  
9:30 discipline  
10:00 – 13:00 chores  
13:00 – 14:00 lunch

"I am assuming that he is making the breakfasts and lunches and dinners for the summer although he has not made a note of them," asked Julie.

Meredith just nodded her head. They went back to reading.

14:00 – 18:00 free time  
18:00 – 19:30 dinner  
20:00 – 21:00 piano practice and discipline  
21:00 - 24:00 basketball practice  
24:00 bed

"That sick bastard!" Jack exclaimed and got out of his seat. "And to mention I talked to him on numerous occasions on how to improve Troy's game. He talked about how he would work with Troy, make him work a bit harder over the summer so he was ready for the next season. He being a basketball player I never looked deeper!"

"Jack" said Meredith in a calm voice, "you can't have known, Mark hid it very well and Troy never knew any better to complain. Now the important thing is how to help Troy."

"They should have the death penalty for child abusers" muttered Jack under his breath as he sat back down and ran his hand through his hair.

"What do we do now that we know all this?" asked his beautiful wife always the voice of reason.

"The reason Troy had a panic attack was he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. It looks like unknowingly we threw him into a situation where he was quite lost. To help Troy we need to provide him with a routine where he is going to feel comfortable."

"You want us to dictate his life after he has spent it being it dictated," demanded Jack.

"We are not going to dictate it Jack. But Troy doesn't know anything else. If we do not help him, it would be like throwing someone who cannot swim into the ocean," replied Meredith.

"What do we have to do?" asked Julie.

"When you go home tonight, I want you to sit down and make the next day's schedule for him so he knows what it is expected of him. Now I know it sounds harsh but for the first part of his recovery I want Troy to feel comfortable in this new situation and with you and if that means we control his life for the moment then so be it. You can have a different schedule for everyday if you wish, just as long as he knows what is happening the next day step by step. It might be a good idea that you develop some routines for the whole family."

"I don't think we can do that" Jack said.

"Jack in the beginning I told you that you can back away, you still can," said Meredith the voice of reason.

"Of course we are not backing of but I am also not willing to put Troy through more then he already has," exclaimed Jack.

Meredith took a deep breath and tried again. "We are not putting Troy into the same situation. What we are going to do is take him out of this situation but we can't say to him now you go do what you want. It doesn't work that way. He has spent his entire life following the routines his father has set up for him. We are going to give him stability." She could finally see that she was getting through to him.

"Now this is not going to permanent; we are going to give Troy the control of his life back. We are just going to do it slowly so that he does not end up in an emergency room which in the future might lead him to an institution."

At this both Julie and Jack looked shocked they had not considered that this was leading to Troy being in an institution.

Seeing now that they had understood the seriousness of the situation Meredith continued,

"Troy is used to getting up early and getting a physical workout and I see nothing wrong with this except the hour perhaps, so I suggest you keep that routine for him but perhaps have him wake up a bit later then he is used to. I would like to warn you that you might not be able to keep him bed as his body is used to rising early. So what time do you guys usually have breakfast?"

"Over the summers around nine" answered Julie.

"Perfect, tell him to exercise in the morning and then join you for breakfast, however emphasize that he is not expected to make breakfast. It would be a good idea that if one of you were in the kitchen before he gets there to either make or have breakfast ready."

Jack and Julie both nodded their heads so far sounded like things they could do.

"Also it would be a good idea if you write down the chores Troy will be responsible for while in your home and not one less and not one more."

"But we don't want him to be doing any chores around the house. I mean not to sound over spoiled but we have never asked the children under our care for chores we have help that comes in, you know that. It is unfortunate that she has not been at the house these last three days, Michele has gone to visit family this week she should be back next week."

Meredith smiled and went on "I wasn't talking about washing the windows, the small things that he should be responsible for like making his bed, putting away his own clothes and so forth. These things need to be very clear for him so he knows what to do."

Jack signed knowing that suddenly this was more complicated than they anticipated "how about we give him the option not doing anything? Wouldn't that be nice for him?" he asked.

"As much as it sounds great it would be doing more harm for Troy in the long run. Now a very important thing I would like both of you to do. I want to take a few hours each day to do something individually with Troy, just one of you and him."

"Like what?"

"Anything a 14 year old would be expected to do. I know my boys like to spend hours playing those games on the play station so get a play station and send time playing with him, take him fishing, buy him some legos, watch a movie with him I am sure you can think of other things. The important thing is that you give Troy a different experience every time and you show him that spending time with him is normal and you enjoy it."

"I think we can manage that," said Jack looking more confident than before.

"What we are doing with this is that we are going to build up a repertoire of things a normal child is expected and can do by themselves. So in the future when you ask Troy to spend time by himself he can have many activities he can choose from."

"Now the other reasons for the panic attack. In this I need support form you Julie. I want you to choose the clothes that Troy is to wear."

"What!" again it was Jack who reacted.

"Will you calm down Jack?" said Meredith losing some of her patience with him. "When I say that Troy's father controlled his life it was even down to the clothes he was to wear. This is a simple thing that we can do for him for the time being. Now don't blow up Jack, but the other reason for the attack was the bedroom."

"The bedroom?" this time it was Julie who had asked the question.

"Although it seemed that Troy had a bedroom in his house it was all for show. His actual bedroom was in the basement"

This time Julie's voice squeaked when she asked "The basement?"

"On a mattress in the basement of their house," Meredith repeated and Jack could no longer take it as he got up and started to pace once again.

"Now the fact that he didn't know what was to be expected of him, given more choices then he never has had and on top the expectation that he sleep in his room on his own bed led to him being overwhelmed and that led to the panic attack."

"You expect us to stick him in the basement too?" asked Jack sarcastically.

Meredith gave him the death glare "of course not, I have asked Doctor McGhee to prescribe to Troy an anti anxiety medication that he would need to take in the mornings for now and also some sleep aids to help him sleep at night. What I want from you Julie is to have a routine when it is time for bed. Set up a bed time for him, I know Jack," Meredith said looking over to Jack who was still pacing up and down "we don't really want a bed time for a 14 year old but we are going have one for this one."

"I want you Julie to be there to put him to bed. Show him the clothes that he is to wear the next day, give him the pill with a glass of warm milk, and tell him what the pill is for. After wards I want you to truck him into bed like you would do with a small child, assuring him that it is ok and it is fine that he is there. Wait until he falls asleep, perhaps read him a story but make sure he is asleep before you leave the room."

After a lot more questions and feeling more rattled then they had ever been and not even ready enough Jack and Julie took Troy back home.


	9. Chapter 9

The ride home was silent as Jack and Julie had no idea what to say and the last three days living with Troy had thought them that Troy was not one to start a conversation. They stopped by the pharmacy to pick up the anti-anxiety medication and the sleep aids that Troy had been prescribed.

The psychiatrist who had prescribed them a Doctor McGhee had told them that Troy should start the sleep aids that night and then the medication in the morning. They stopped at a restaurant to have dinner as the time was getting quite late. Jack couldn't believe that they had almost spent an entire day at the shelter.

During dinner they could see that even though Troy tried his hardest he was exhausted but they had a schedule to discuss. Jack would have preferred to wait until the morning however he feared that Troy might have another attack in the morning.

He opened the conversation while they were waiting for desert. He pulled out a piece of paper and his pen from his pocket and placed them on the table. Immediately he saw that he had Troy's attention.

"Now, Meredith has said that it would be better for all of us if we all knew what we are supposed to be doing the next day. So from now on every day we will take ten minutes after dinner to plan out the next day. Does that seem acceptable to you?" he asked knowing full well that Troy would not object.

"Yes sir," was his quiet response.

"Good, now we were told that you wake up in the mornings to exercise and that it is very healthy. I myself get up in the mornings to go for a run, perhaps we he could run together? Then support each other for some fitness exercises?" said Jack. He was nervous, he had never done something like this before, and how did you tell a fourteen year old boy what he should be doing? Wasn't fourteen just around the age when kids started to fight against their parents about what they were to do?

"If you think that is a good idea sir," was Troy's response.

"Ok. I leave the house around 7:15 and exercise for an hour, so wake up is at 7, ok?"

"Yes sir."

"We come back, take a shower and go down to have breakfast. Now I have to tell you that the kitchen always belongs to me in the mornings. I am always the person responsible for the breakfast. Clear?" said Jack his voice coming out a little harsher than he anticipated it.

This time Troy only nodded his head, they did not expect him to cook? Maybe it was just breakfast.

"Then after breakfast you and I are going to hit the mall," Jack was writing down the schedule as he was talking and he looked over to Troy to see his reaction, as far as he knew children always liked the mall and they could pick up some stuff for the two of them to do for the following days. "We'll hit the music and the electronic store and perhaps the toy store. What do you think of that?"

"Oh, please don't forget the bookstore," added Julie joining in the conversation. "We have a rule in our house Troy, that a trip to the mall must always include a visit to the bookstore."

Troy could only nod his head, he had never been to the mall so he did not know what to expect and what he was to do.

"Oh, I know!" exclaimed Julie "why don't I join you boys for lunch?" she then turned to Troy. "Normally we have help around the house, Michelle who comes in everyday to help and normally I really like cooking but the clean up afterwards is what I don't like."

Troy wondered if they would actually tell him what he was supposed to do or was he supposed to guess. Was he supposed to clean up afterwards when she did the cooking? Was that what they had expected of him in the last few days? For he had seen no one around the house, maybe they had gotten rid of this Michele person now that they had him. He felt his heart beat going up and his breathing becoming faster. What was happening to him? Why was he reacting like this?

Jack saw that Troy was panicking and decided to move things along. Whatever they had said had set of something,

"After lunch we come home and normally everyone is left to fend for themselves until about three but tomorrow we will sit down and talk more about what we expect of you while you live under our roof."

Troy let out the breath he was holding, he hadn't realised that he had been holding his breath until just that moment. Usually whenever his father changed the schedule or expected Troy to do something else he would find out about it when his father punished him and screamed at him for getting it wrong or not doing it. It looked like the Bolton's were going to give him the benefit of the doubt and tell him about it. He realised that they were looking at him and waiting for him and he blushed, they probably already thought he was an idiot, 'way to go Troy' he thought to himself.

Jack saw that whatever he had said calmed Troy down and he seemed to be thinking things though and he couldn't help but smile when Troy blushed when he realised that he was no longer listening. He didn't want to draw attention to it so he continued.

"I coach basketball down at the youth centre in the summers and I was thinking it would be a good idea if you would join me. It would keep you in the game. Also Meredith wishes that you speak with her every day for this week and then a few times next week and eventually it would be once a week. She is also in the youth centre in the afternoons so we will be hitting two birds with one stone. Sound good so far?"

"Yes sir," said Troy, he was supposed to see this Meredith lady more? What could they possibly talk about? She kept asking him to describe things and asked weird questions. It was like she had no idea what children were supposed to do to repay their parents. For a moment he wondered how her children repaid her and her husband, he knew quite a bit about her as she had spent quite a bit talking about them.

Suddenly he looked up again, he seemed to have lost track of the conversation again, he was sure that the Bolton's couldn't have been pleased with him as they had to keep waiting for him. He knew they wouldn't do anything in public but he was sure that he was going to be punished when they got home. That thought made his breathing once again pick up as he didn't know what kind of punishments these people used and therefore he couldn't mentally prepare himself.

Julie saw that Troy's breath had picked up once again, she had to give credit to Meredith, if knowing what was happening panicked Troy this much what must not knowing had done to him. She picked up the conversation.

"After you boys get back from the centre and wash up we'll have dinner and we always clean up after dinner together. After dinner..." here she paused and even though Meredith had said that they told him what to do and not to ask, she couldn't help herself,

"is there anything you are used to doing after dinner?"

Troy looked down at the table and bit his lower lip he wasn't sure what the right answer was so after about a minute or two debating the issue in his head he decided to go with the truth.

"I usually practice the piano or study," he said quietly.

This seemed to surprise the Bolton's "you play the piano?" asked Jack and Troy could only nod his head. Then Jack remembered seeing it on the schedule however he was at the time more interested in the other things that were on that dammed thing.

"Well since it is summer and no studying is required you can play our piano, would that be ok?" went on Jack.

Troy's joy at being allowed to play the piano that he saw in the house was short lived as he was shocked over the other half of the statement, no studying required? How was he supposed to keep up if he was not to study? For the moment he decided to let that one go since he had so many other things to worry about. These people had yet to learn of his stupidity, he was sure that once they found out they would make him study to cover it up as well.

He decided to keep this piece of information to himself. He was already in deep trouble with them he did not want to add more to his punishment that he knew was coming up. They would punish him for his stupidity when they found out no doubt about it. There was no reason to get everything though in one day.

"After you practice we'll do something together as a whole family, like watch a movie or read or play a game and then we'll go to sleep," concluded Jack. "Have we left something out? Is this ok?"

Had they left something out? Yes, Troy didn't see any mention of the discipline he was to receive on the schedule, how about what and when he was supposed to help around the house? How was he supposed to repay them? He did not have anything to give them. But perhaps he would learn of those tomorrow when they went on schedule. Maybe they wanted to keep it on the same times as his father? He knew that they had seen the schedule he had written out.

GOD he wanted to scream! There were so many questions, so many unanswered things. He didn't want to voice any of them since the Bolton's seem to think the schedule was fine and waiting an answer from him so he looked up from the table top he was examining and said in a voice that he hoped sounded strong enough.

"Yes sir, everything seems fine."

Jack looked over at Troy and knew that he was not alright but he didn't know what else he was supposed to say to help Troy. He decided that it was enough for know, they would face each problem as it arose in the following weeks.

During desert they could see that Troy was fading fast and was almost asleep, so they asked for the check and left, he even dozed on the way home.

"I want you to go upstairs, brush your teeth, take a shower and get ready for bed and I will be there shortly," said Julie softly to Troy as they walked in through the door. Troy only nodded his head not even looking up and moved up the stairs.

Jack wrapped his arms around his wife and held her close as they gained strength from each other. Then Julie moved to the kitchen heated up a glass of milk took the pill that Jack handed to her and made her way upstairs.

She was waiting for Troy when he came out of the bathroom. He had put on his pyjama pants but was carrying the top in his hands; he froze when he saw that Mrs. Bolton was waiting for him in the room. He knew that he had caused them trouble. They had spent the night at the hospital because of his foolishness and an entire day at the shelter. He knew that they would punish him for it he just never expected it to be Mrs. Bolton.

He had in his stupid and delusional mind believed that mothers were not supposed to do things like discipline and punish their children. Of course Mrs. Bolton was not his mother and therefore not in the same category but he had thought that Coach Bolton would have been the one to do it. His father had often told him that should his mother were alive she too would have been revolted by him and would have taken great pleasure in educating him. At night when the monsters in the corners seemed too much he had imagined that his mother was there and she had at least been nice and helped him.

He took an involuntary step back as she moved towards him and froze, he at least knew that he had to accept his punishment and be ready for it. He probably was going to get an extra beating because she had already been waiting for him. He felt tears well up, it was not fair she had told him to take a shower and he had taken the quickest one he could manage and be ready but he had not been fast enough.

He had become rather spoiled in a very short time. He was completely pain free for the first time in his life and found that he liked the feeling. He wanted to be pain free for just a bit longer, was that such a bad thing? He told himself to stop thinking like that, he deserved to be punished for the trouble he had been. He wanted to make up some points with her so braved a question. Perhaps if she saw that he was willing and compliant she would take it easy on him.

"Er... how...how would....you....you like me?" he hated the fact that his voice broke and it looked like he was going hyperventilate again. It was just a beating; he had beatings before he could do this. He took deep breaths to try to calm himself.

Julie had tears in her eyes as she looked at the boy, he was scared of her. He was trying very hard not to panic and she knew that he expected her to beat him. From experience Julie knew that words would never be enough and they would never have the effect that her actions would. But she used them anyway as she reached out to the pyjama top he still had in his hands.

"Shhh, it's ok, everything is going to be fine." She gave the top a tug as it looked like he had a death grip on it. After a minute he let go of the top and looked at her.

She very carefully found the head of the t-shirt and very slowly reached up and slipped it over his head. Then she found the right arm and waited for him to put his arm through the arm hole. She repeated her actions slowly on the other side. She smiled at him and grabbed his hand and led him over to the bed.

"I am not going to hurt you, don't worry," she went on, but she knew that the words were not registering with Troy.

Troy hesitated when they reached the bed. He was not supposed to sleep in a bed he knew that, he had spent the last three nights on the floor as he was not shown another option, not that he had slept much he just didn't know what to expect.

"It's ok," said Julie in a very soft voice as she continued to tug at his hand. She was determined that Troy would get some sleep tonight. She already felt guilty about the fact that he had not slept the last three nights and she haven't even picked up on it. She gently led him to the side of the bed and guided him to sit. She then reached for the glass of milk and the pill.

"This medication will help you sleep, and I found that warm milk always helps the process as well." Troy looked at the pill, Meredith had also in length had explained to him what they were for that didn't mean he wanted to take it but he was more afraid of what she would do to him if he refused. Also wasn't she going to punish him? Meredith had told him he would feel sleepy pretty quickly after taking the pill perhaps they were going to wait until the morning to discipline him although there was nothing on the schedule about that.

In the mean time he realised that he was just staring at the pill and quickly put it in his mouth and drank down the milk as fast as he could. When he was done she took the glass of his hand and placed it on the table while walking over to the closet. Maybe he was supposed to spend the night in the closet? Was he supposed to get up and follow her there?

Julie reached into the closet and first pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. "These here are your clothes for going running with Jack in the morning," then she pulled out a set of clothes for him to wear. "And these are for the rest of the day and these are for playing basketball at the centre." She said as she pulled out the appropriate clothing from the closet and drawers and put them on the chair and desk.

She looked down at his shoes, was she supposed to pick his shoes as well? She didn't want to risk it, "you know better than I what kind of shoes you should wear for running and basketball but these here would do with your daily outfit," she said as she pulled out a pair of campers from where they sat.

All the clothes had come from Troy's own closet at his home. As a social worker had gone and packed up his clothes for him. She at first was amazed that a boy could own so many items and when she found out that he couldn't chose them she was devastated. She looked over at Troy who was watching her every move. "Any questions?" she couldn't help but ask.

Troy took a deep breath he had been lucky so far and the Bolton's seemed to be forgiving of mistakes or at least not acting on them yet. His father had never welcomed questions but he braved another one anyway. All his clothes from his upstairs closet had made it over to this house but nothing from his room in the basement, such as his house clothes and actual exercise clothes.

"What am I to wear in the house?"

Julie was taken aback by a second, in the house? Thinking quickly and knowing that she can make adjustments later she said, "The jeans and the t-shirt that I have set out is fine, you can keep wearing them."

"Yes ma'am" said Troy looking at the choices. If they didn't want house clothes he was fine with that.

He watched her carefully as she moved back towards him. She once again took his hand and raised him of the bed. He breathed a sigh of relief she was at least going to show him where he was meant to sleep.

Julie released Troy just long enough to move the covers back and turned around back towards him. His eyes had gone huge and he was staring at her. "Come on, it's ok, this is your bed and this is where Jack and I want you to sleep." She kept saying things like that and it took a bit of tugging and pushing until he was lying down in the bed.

She covered him and made sure he was smugly tucked in ignoring the slight trembling. She smiled remembering that he was not the first teenager she had tucked in. She still did for Daniel if he was having a bad week and decided to spend the night at home. Even at the age of 29 he went mushy whenever she mothered him. She thought mothering Troy might be just what he needed right now.

She very carefully moved her hand to his forehead and ignored the fact that he flinched from her touch. She believed that the best medicine for this was showing him that her touch would not hurt him. She slowly ran her hands through his bangs and whispered that he was fine and safe and this is where he was supposed to be.

Very slowly she saw his eyes flutter closed even though he fought against it. And after about ten minutes his breathing evened out and he was asleep. Julie reached over and gave him a kiss on the forehead knowing that if he was awake it would have been too much for him to handle.

"He asleep?" asked her husband. Without saying anything she reached over to his bed side lamp turned it off and went to her husband. She took him by the hand and led him away. She didn't know what awaited them tomorrow but they both needed sleep and rest to help their son.


	10. Chapter 10

As Troy began to wakeup he noticed that he was warm, comfortable and pain free. He enjoyed the feeling for a moment before he remembered that he was now living with the Bolton's. While the Bolton's hadn't disciplined or punished him for his crimes last night they were sure to do it today.

He looked over at the clock that was on the night stand and saw that it read 5:45, he knew he was awake and that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep however they had told him wake up was at seven and he didn't dare get out of bed although he wanted to explore around the room and the house. He wasn't given permission and he didn't know what he would be allowed to do in this house. He didn't want to be caught wondering around their house.

The Bolton's house of what he could see was moderately big. They had four bedrooms upstairs; there was the master suit which he assumed belonged to the Bolton's. There was a guest room that looked like it was used quite a bit as it looked well used. There was this bedroom which shared a bathroom with the room next door. He didn't dare go in it as it looked like it belonged to someone as there was quite a lot of stuff in it and it looked like a tornado had gone through it.

Troy wondered if he should tidy the room up so they would see that he was good at something but didn't dare move. Coach Bolton had told him yesterday that he was going to tell him what he was supposed to do around the house. He wondered if the coach would tell him when he was to be disciplined as well. He liked knowing because rule number one was to be ready and if he didn't know when he was to be disciplined then he couldn't be ready.

Perhaps he was right in his thinking last night and that the coach would be the one to discipline him. He shivered when he thought of Coach Bolton using his strength to belt him or cane him or whatever method of discipline was his preferred method. His father had been strong but Troy had known Coach Bolton for the past year and knew that he was strong and fit and could take his father down easily in a fight. Troy didn't want to feel him use that strength against his back or any other part of his body.

He shook his head to clear the unwanted thoughts. Of course Coach Bolton was going to do whatever was necessary to get him to obey, if it was a belting then he would just have to live with it, God he hoped it was not the belt however the sooner he got used to the fact that these people were now responsible for him the better.

He still was not sure why he had been removed from his own home. His father hadn't done anything wrong. On the contrary he had tried very hard to make Troy normal. Meredith had asked again and again if he had understood why he couldn't live with his father any longer. He had not.

Maybe his father wasn't doing a good enough job? The coach was definitely stronger and could be better at disciplining him. This past year his father had told him often enough that he had to find harder discipline methods for him because apparently as his head got thicker so did his skin and it was harder for his father to discipline him. Troy never one to argue with his father had wondered if his skin was getting thicker why had it hurt far more? Maybe having two people in the house was going to be better at getting him to do whatever he was supposed to do better. He wished someone would tell him what he was supposed to do better.

His hearing picked up noises from the other room. It looked like the Bolton's were awake and talking to each other. Troy took another look at the clock; 6:37 at least there wasn't much longer to go, he hated staying still and not doing anything. He suddenly had the feeling he was being watched and turned around to look in the direct eyes of Coach Bolton.

"Good morning," said Jack in what he hoped was a jolly enough voice standing in Troy's door way. He didn't want to enter the boy's room without his permission so Troy could start to feel safe and comfortable in his own room but asking now would be a mute point so he had decided to wait until a time that Troy could give him the permission.

"You awake or would you like some snooze time?" he asked knowing full well that Meredith had warned them against too many questions.

"Awake sir," was the answer he got, he disliked anyone calling him 'sir' and on the first day that Troy had come to live with them he had told him to call him 'Jack' but again was warned yesterday by Meredith that this would be difficult as Troy apparently called his father 'sir'. He knew this was a problem for another day and that he couldn't reprimand the child.

"You want to get out of bed and get dressed?" asked Jack in the most neutral voice he could muster. As answer Troy got out of bed and looked down at it not sure if he was supposed to make it or not.

"Why don't you make your bed?" Jack asked in a tense voice, maybe he could get his hands on a gun to shoot the bastard?

Jack couldn't help but watch as Troy made his bed, he had seen many people make beds and knew many of their children just threw the covers over the bed and declared it done. But he was frozen on the spot as he watched on with amazement the amount of detail Troy gave the bed and made it with military precision. He would have liked to joke and say that Troy could have a nice military career, as he seemed to have calling people 'sir' down to pat, followed orders very well and apparently made his bed to their standards but he kept the joking to himself as he was not sure how Troy would take it. He continued once he thought that Troy was done.

"Well since you are up and I am up, why don't we meet outside in 10?"

Troy nodded his head as he moved towards the bathroom, he knew that the coach was evaluating him and would test him this morning. He hoped that he was pleased with the bed as he wasn't sure how they wanted him to make it, he would just hope that it was ok.

The run was uneventful as they tracked though the neighbouring blocks. Jack was impressed that Troy was so well in shape, he couldn't help but think that it was because of that bastard of a father of his. After their run Jack supported Troy in some sit-ups and exercises, he used the time to think about the things they could be doing together in the mornings to make Troy a better player, he was after all a basketball coach.

When they were done he told him to go upstairs, take a shower, get dressed and not show up before the half hour was up, he didn't want Troy coming downstairs before he managed to have his own shower and make his way downstairs to start breakfast. He then went in their bedroom to wake up his wife who probably had gone back to sleep the moment he left her.

He was downstairs making eggs and sausages when Troy came back down on the dot, he lingered in the doorway not sure what he was supposed to do. Jack waved him over to the kitchen island where they always had breakfast in the mornings.

"Come sit down, I hope you like eggs," he said as he placed a plate in front of Troy along with the anti-anxiety medication. At that moment Julie came down the stairs still yawning and sat down next to Troy, she reached over to him and before he could react gave him a kiss on the cheek and moved away.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she said and Jack could have sworn he saw the tiniest of smiles on the boy's face before he got down to eating his breakfast.

Julie could see that Troy was getting nervous as the breakfast came to a close. She and Jack exchanged glances, it was at least nice to know what made Troy nervous as they had been blind to it in the last couple of days. They had imagined that Troy was just shy and nervous about living with people he didn't know. After all they had done this eight times in the past and they had just continued on with their lives as normal. None of their children had had a panic attack before. She decided that they needed to get out of the house before something happened.

"Why don't you boys head out? You can stop by the nursery. Casey said that she would have flowers for me today for the backyard."

"Will do love," he said and Julie knew that they were already changing as Jack hated it when they got flowers because then he had to help plant them. He was known to complain long and hard about it. But now for the sake of Troy he was trying to keep the negative comments to himself. She couldn't help the evil look that came over her eyes as she thought about what else she could manage to get her husband to do without the usual commentary that accompanied them.

Her husband must have caught the look as he said "Don't even think about it" to her and "Come on champ, let's hit to road," to Troy as he grabbed his keys.

He turned towards Troy and he saw that Troy was frozen on the spot. He had to repeat himself three times before Troy found the courage to move. Jack thanked Meredith for sharing Troy's schedule with them as Jack knew what the delay was about however he was angry as they got in the car and he could see that his anger was making Troy nervous.

The turned towards the boy and visibly saw the boy flinch back, he knew he at least needed to try "it's not you Troy. I am not upset with you, do you understand that?" The boy's eyes were huge as he nodded his head.

Jack knew and wasn't waiting for miracles to happen the first day and hoped that sometime in the future Troy would finally understand that not everybody wanted to hurt him.

"I am not going to hurt you, nor is Julie. We are never going to hurt you. I know you don't believe me, but we are going to show you that we are not. What happened to you was wrong, no child should have to go through what you did," he said and gave Troy a few minutes to digest what he said. He had a feeling he would be saying these things for a while from now on and without waiting for a response started the car and backed up the drive way.

The trip to the nursery and the mall went uneventful if you could call having a shadow uneventful. Troy followed him around in total silence and helped out when needed. An elderly lady even commented on what perfectly mannered gentleman he was when he helped her with her flowers and Jack almost felt like growling at her while giving her a tight smile.

Troy on the other hand seemed to have calmed down a little. Jack figured that it was to do with being in public, he knew that Troy felt a bit safer knowing that Jack wouldn't be doing anything to him here.

They stopped by the electronic store where Jack brought a play station. Last night he had called Daniel, their third foster child who was into all sort of electronics and worked at creating computer games and had gotten advice on what he should buy. He had then spent 10 minutes talking him out of coming to the mall to buy it with him and then another 20 minutes talking him out coming over to set it up and then play with it. Setting it up was what he planned on doing with Troy sometime in the week. He convinced Daniel to give them a week before coming and test driving the system.

The problem arose when they went into the huge toy store. Troy just froze in the entrance and looked around in amazement. He had never seen such a place. He had never had many toys to begin with and when he had turned ten his father had gotten rid of what he had saying he was too old for them. He took a step towards the aisles and looked behind him and halted when he saw Coach Bolton. He had a look of furry on his face. Troy thought back to all they had done that morning and wondered what he could have possibly done wrong.

Jack had to get out of there before he did any damage. "Troy, I need... a moment, can you stay in the toy store for a little while? I'll be right back?" he did not wait for a response and left the store and found the closes bathroom and locked himself in a stall.

He wanted to scream and shout and hit something, he could understand a child not having any toys or not taken to a toy store. There were many people out there who couldn't afford to buy toys for their children but to do it out of spite was something that Jack could not understand and he didn't want to understand. After he calmed down he left the stall splashed his face and took several long breaths before going back to the store.

What he found there was even more heartbreaking then he had left. Troy was standing exactly where he had left him staring at the ground not even looking around, any other child would have taken advantage of their parent or guardian not being there and wondered about. Jack moved around the front of the boy so he could see his face. He wanted to say that they'll come back at another time but he knew that would be a bad idea as Troy would feel even guiltier about something he had not done.

"Sorry about that, wasn't your fault," Troy didn't even look up, Jack reached out and ignoring the flinch back took him by the arm and dragged him though the toy store keeping up a running commentary about the toys each of their children had liked and had and he also talked about the toys he had when he had was a boy and how they had changed. He also made a mental note to himself to come back and get some toys for the boy. He didn't want to spoil the child from the get go of getting him one of everything which this child deserved but he knew that they would be fighting a losing battle as Troy's now older brothers and sisters picked up on the lack of toys they would be lucky if one didn't show up every day.

He knew that Troy was at the age where you got a fourteen year old toys they would be embarrassed, but Jack figured in this department Troy was following his age mates a bit behind and he also needed the play.

He knew he had made the right decision when they reached the remote controlled section as Troy seemed to have lost his fear and was actually taking in every detail of every single thing in. Jack decided to buy a car where you had to put together the engine. He knew Troy was not dumb; he should be able to figure out that it was for him if not in the buying process but when Jack handed the bag to him saying "It's yours, so you should carry it."

They then met Julie for lunch and visited the bookstore afterwards. They saw an entire transformation when they entered the store as Troy lost any trance of uneasiness and went around the store like he was in bliss. Julie went over to him and Jack could see her talking to him in a soft voice and him nodding his head with a smile on his face.

Troy could not believe it; they wanted him to pick a book to buy. He wasn't quite sure what he should pick. There was this great book that was about the history of basketball, the next story in the Drizzt's series but as he wondered around he saw a seagull out of the corner of his eye. There standing in on the shelf was "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" he looked at the price and it wasn't much so he braved it, praying that he hadn't made the wrong choice he approached Mrs. Bolton with it.

When she saw that Troy was coming over with a book she smiled, they had apparently found something Troy enjoyed. They had a huge collection of books at home but hadn't observed that Troy showing any interest in it. Perhaps he didn't know that he could. Julie made sure to make a comment about it when they got home. She looked over at the book he had picked, it was one of her favourites as a matter of fact they had three copies of that particular book in their home. She decided not to mention it as this copy would be Troy's alone and he needed that.

"Excellent choice Troy," she said and saw the blush that worked its way up his face. "Why don't you go and see if you could pry Jack away from the sports section so we can go home?"

Troy wondered over to Jack nervously he was supposed to tell him it was time to go? As he reached him he saw that Jack was looking at the same book he had admired before. Jack turned towards him and smiled "Time to go?" he asked and went on "nice book isn't it? Saw you looking at it, nice," he said as he placed it back on the shelf. Troy momentarily felt disappointed if he had picked that book Jack would have been pleased. Jack on the other hand thought that the disappointment was for leaving the bookstore, "don't worry, we will come back to visit the bookstore again." Then he lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret "Julie loves books so we get to visit bookstores at least once a week."

Troy smiled the first smile that Jack had seen since coming to their house. Regardless it wasn't long lived because when they got home Jack made the error of telling Troy that they would be discussing what was expected of Troy and it seemed whatever ground they had won with Troy disappeared when they saw the disappointment on his face as he believed the time had come for them to punish him.

Jack saw Troy's heart rate go up and that he was taking great care to calm himself and prepare himself to what was to come. Jack very calmly moved him over to the coach and guided him to sit.

"I am not going to hurt you, Troy look at me," he said and waited until Troy had gotten the courage to lift his eyes up from his hands he was studying to look at him. "You have done nothing wrong today or in the last four days we have known you that would warrant punishment."

He looked to see if he was getting though to Troy and realised maybe not so decided to try again maybe specify the day? "I repeat you have done nothing wrong in the past four days so there will be no punishment or discipline."

He sat back and wondered once again how they were going to get through to the boy. He then spent the next 20 minutes writing down everything they expected Troy to do around the house. They had spent a part of last night discussing what they should be and Jack couldn't help but look over at Troy when the list was done.

Troy could not believe the list. There was nothing on it. They wanted him to do very little around the house; the list considered things like making his bed, putting away his clothes and toys, carrying his own dishes to the kitchen after a meal, helping clean up after dinner and making sure that he tidied up after himself in general. How was he supposed to repay these people? They had already brought him a toy he wasn't sure what to do with and a book and now they were telling him that no work was expected of him? He knew his father was well of and the Bolton's while it looked like they didn't need for anything they weren't in the means as with his father. How will they be able to keep him if he didn't pay for himself somehow?

After some consideration he decided to voice his concern. "How am I to pay for myself?"

The discussion that had followed Troy's loaded question was long and hard. It had taken longer than expected to explain to Troy that children were not responsible for themselves. At the end they were not sure if Troy had gotten the idea and Jack made a note to have a word with Meredith so they can include this particular topic to discuss in their sessions.

Then Troy and Jack made their way to the youth centre so they could play basketball and Jack could see Troy's actual personality shining through. The boy Jack had seen and known for the past year. He was confident and sure of himself as he played the position of small forward but Jack already knew that Troy had the makings of a great point guard otherwise known as the play maker. The other players responded well to him and Jack could see that Troy was not shy of physical contact with the other players as he easily traded handshakes and back slaps with them.

Jack was angry at himself, he had never looked beyond the court to see Troy, and if he had then maybe he would have noticed that there was something wrong. Was he missing other children because he was not looking at the rest of their lives but just concentrating on their sporting lives? He made a vow to himself that he would be more involved with all his players' lives from then onwards.

After they were done playing everyone broke off for some scrimmages and Troy went to have his hour with Meredith. Jack usually spent this hour supervising the scrimmages or spending time with some of the players that came up to ask him for advice.

When Troy came out of his meeting with Meredith he seemed to be in deep thoughts as he made his way over to the changing rooms to pick up his stuff.

The dinner that night also went without any troubles as Jack concentrated on talking basketball and managed to get Troy to comment on different plays. He also noticed that while Troy knew about basketball on the court he was lacking in knowledge in the NBA and college basketball, Jack added that to things that he needed to do with Troy. Julie being with someone who most of the time talked basketball for the past 30 years also managed to join in the conversation, they made sure to keep the conversation going as they cleaned up the table and placed everything in the dishwasher.

Then Jack with a really calm air sat Troy down at the table and talked to him about the next day's schedule. He wrote it down on a piece of paper and when they were done got up and stuck in on the fridge for everyone to see and know.

They got the shock of their life as they settled down to read, they didn't want to watch television as they thought it might disturb Troy as he practiced the piano, however the moment Troy started to play they turned around to look at him in astonishment. Troy feeling their eyes on him stopped playing and turned to look at them in return.

"Is there something wrong sir? Ma'am?" he behaved to ask them.

"Wow, is the only thing I can think of," said Julie as she got up and went over to him. "May we listen to you play?"

Troy went cold all over. He knew what happened to him when his father listened to him play. He turned back to the piano and repeated what Meredith told him just that afternoon 'these people were not his father, not everyone was like that.' He repeated what he had been told again but had trouble believing in it nevertheless he went back to playing. He knew that their piano was out of tune and he was used to playing a grand but he was not going to complain.

Jack and Julie spent the next hour being mesmerised as they listened to Troy play. Both of them weren't great at understanding music all the same they knew that what they were hearing was not a mediocre player. After Troy had finished playing they were still sitting there staring at him.

Finally they snapped out of it and moved the conversation to the living room where they could be more comfortable.

"Troy I don't know what to say, you are incredible," said Jack.

"Not really, I just practice a lot sir," replied Troy.

"You can't have gotten this good without help, do you take any lessons?" asked Julie ignoring the bit of information Troy gave them about himself not being a good player.

"Yes, Ma'am I do. During the winter Mrs. Watson gives me lessons on Sundays."

"Do you know how we can get in touch with her? Perhaps she can continue to work with you now that you are here in the summer. Of course if you wish to?" added Jack.

Troy looked down; Jack seemed to notice that when he was not sure of the reaction he was going to get he would break eye contact and look down. "I am sorry sir, I don't know her number. My father was the one who made all the arrangements."

"Well did she come to your house to give you lessons or did you go to her house?" asked Julie after all she was a business woman and a teacher she knew how deal with problems.

"I went to her house Ma'am."

"Do you know where she lives?" asked Jack knowing where his wife was leading with her questions.,

"Yes sir."

"Well perhaps the day after tomorrow we can go by her house to see her and talk to her."

"If you think that is a good idea sir" was the answer they got.

"Well, now that is settled, why don't we watch a movie before bed?" asked Jack moving over to the DVD collection to pick a movie.

Troy moved over to the couch reluctantly, normally he studied if he had time at night however there was not anything about it on tomorrow's schedule nor was it on todays. Did they not expect him to study as well as not clean? When he reflected on it he decided that he could do without the cleaning but he couldn't do without studying. Perhaps he could bring up the question up with Meredith. It was much nicer to talk to her today knowing that it was coming to an end rather than yesterday where it went on and on. He was actually beginning to like her.

He looked up when the movie started and for the next two hours and thirteen minutes he watched in fascination as he was introduced to the world of Star Wars. When the movie finished he couldn't help but look over to the Bolton's with a smile on his face.

"Well if you liked this movie there are five more in the series," said Jack with his arm around his wife who had cruelled up by his side.

"I would like to watch them as well sir, very much," said Troy and Jack couldn't help but laugh as his wife elbowed him in the side. All their children had been made basketball and Star Wars fanatics because of this man and it looked like it was not going to be any different with Troy.

"Why don't you go upstairs and get ready for bed, I'll be up in a moment," said Julie getting up of the couch and stretching, she had slept through the second half of the movie after all see had seen the movie 13 times since it had come out on DVD, she didn't even want to think about how many times she had watched the original trilogy. She also ignored the tenseness that came over Troy and knew that it would take time.

The bed time went smoother than it did the night before. She knew that Troy wasn't too keen on taking the sleeping pill and had phoned Meredith today to talk about it and was told that the pill was for a short while until Troy slept better. This piece of information she shared with him,

"This pill is just for a little while, until you are more comfortable at sleeping in our home and in your bed. After that you don't have to take it," she told Troy as she handed it over to him. He swallowed it without looking up.

After showing him the clothes he was to wear the next day she tucked him into bed. She had brought up her own copy of 'Jonathan Livingstone Seagull' upstairs and started to read from the book to her son. She knew that she had made the right choice as a really relaxed and nice smile came over his face as he turned towards her to listen. After a while his eyes drifted closed and his breathing evened out without the stress of last night.

She reached over to give him a kiss on the head and turned off the light and went in search of her husband. She couldn't believe it had just been one day. It had been one long day.


	11. Chapter 11

_This chapter has a bit of information on the other foster children that the Bolton's have. I personally never like original characters in a story, having to get background information on them becoming a drag and taking away from the fact that this is fan fiction. However that being said I gave the Bolton's a family and they will either be mentioned once in a while or they will pop up and I wanted to get though all the info. at one go so when they are mentioned in future chapters we will know who they are. None of them will become main characters in this story as it will solemnly focus on Troy as I want to keep it with the high school cast we know.  
Chad himself will be making his entree in the next chapter or the following. _

The next few days went without many hick-ups along the way. All of them more or less feel into the rhythm of the day. Jack would wake up in the mornings and go over to Troy's room to get him up. He usually found him awake and after seeing him reading they offered him the use of their book collection to browse through. It looked like Troy was in a hurry to read through the book collection because Jack could swear that the boy could speed read and Julie even made a comment that she was glad that they had so many books. Of course all these comments they kept to themselves.

After their morning exercises, which Jack found that he enjoyed immensely and hoped that Troy was at least enjoying himself, they would have breakfast together and then Jack or Julie would do something with Troy until lunch.

Julie and Troy spent a very enjoyable morning planting her new flowers and tending to her garden at the corner of the garden. Troy was fascinated with her garden and the idea of getting fresh vegetables. He even braved a conversation with her about the vineyard in France and how you grow grapes.

With Jack they had spent an interesting morning trying to set up the new play station. Jack had never been good at connecting technology hence the reason Daniel had insisted on coming over to help but he had found out that Troy could read the directions and do it far better than him. They then spent the rest of the morning test driving the four games that they had picked up. They also spent a memorable morning trying to put Troy's new car together and had to give up on it. Jack made sure to wait for Maxim to come home before they attempted the project again. Maybe he should have chosen a car where you could just put the batteries in and be ready to go.

An intriguing morning was when Julie took Troy over to visit Mrs. Watson. When she had seen Troy she had given him a hug and then Julie had asked if they could talk privately. Mrs. Watson (Jennifer being her name as Julie had found later) set Troy up to play the piano and had led Julie outside onto the patio to talk. She was devastated to find out what had been going on at his home. She spent half an hour blaming herself for not noticing the signs and for not taking the small things into consideration. It had taken a while for Julie to calm her down and ask her if she could continue to give Troy lessons. The answer she got had more than shocked her.

"I would love to continue to work with Troy however I know that I am not in a position to help him. I mean he surpassed my skills almost two years ago. I had told Mark this however he told me that he really didn't care, Troy was a basketball player not a musician and he was getting these lessons for the sake of his mother and if I didn't want to do it then Troy could simply not have any lessons anymore. Of course I wanted him to play so I kept my mouth closed. My god I am sorry."

"So it wasn't just us," said Julie ignoring the woman who blamed herself. She would have liked to have said it was ok however after knowing Troy for only a week she was feeling very protective and not in a mood to forgive people who could have helped her son. "We weren't too sure but we thought that Troy might not be your average piano player."

"Oh, no I mean yes, he is not your average player, he still has some more to go but he has the potential to be great."

"What do we do now?" asked Julie.

"There is more than one instructor in town that would love to work with him. Why don't I give them a call and see which one would be willing to work with Troy," suggested Jennifer.

"That would be really nice, to be honest I would not be able to know where to begin to find him an appropriate teacher, nevertheless if you give me their contact numbers I could do it if it would be too much work for you," replied Julie.

"Please, it is the least I can do. Why don't I give you my number and you can give me yours and we'll talk once I have made arrangements."

"That would be really acceptable," said Julie and they spent a few more moments talking about Troy. Afterwards a reluctant Julie left Troy with Jennifer for an hour to give them the time to enjoy their time together.

The weekend was what was worrying the Bolton's. Normally Saturday was a free to drop by and use our pool day for all their children. And it was a day many of them took advantage off to drop off grandchildren and have a few hours by themselves. Then Sunday was a family day, around lunch Jack would start the barbeque, Julie would provide the salad and as a rule if you were going to drop by you had let them know before Friday night so there would be enough food and you had to bring something.

Five of their children still lived in Albuquerque. Three of them married with children. When four had called to let them know they were coming on Sunday Jack and Julie were not surprised. The rest of the family of course was curious about the newest member and wanted to welcome him. Jack and Julie had convinced all of them not to show up on Saturday but welcomed them for the Sunday barbeque. They did not want to isolate Troy from the family and this was normal for the Bolton family, they wanted Troy to get used to being with the family. They spent quite a bit of time explaining to Troy what would happen on Sunday. Troy had politely had said that he could stay out of their way if they had wished. They had refused fiercely and told him that they expected him to be part of the family lunch.

Their oldest, Claire who had married right after finishing university and had two children ages 12 and 9, was the first to arrive and just like Jack had predicted had a present for Troy.

She gave him a hug and said "Welcome to the family, if you ever need anything you are welcome to come to me." She then handed him the present and added the words for Jack's benefit, "This is a little something to welcome you to the family. If you are not a Star Wars fanatic yet, you sure are to become one just like the rest of us."

She then laughed as her two children dragged Troy away to open up the present, which turned up to be a Lego star wars star ship to build.

Then came Mark with his two children ages 7 and 5. The moment they entered the house they ran outside to create enough noise to last everyone a lifetime. Mark also had a play station game for Troy, having learnt from Daniel that he had gotten a play station.

Daniel was their trouble child. He had come to live with them when he was seventeen and a half. He had been an orphan since he was 11 having lost his family of five in a fire with him being the only survivor. He was on drugs and had been in a correction centre twice. They hadn't been able to get him to quit while he lived with them although they had tried. He had left home the day he had turned 18 leaving behind a beautiful thank you note. Jack and Julie had searched for him for six months and had never given up. They had found him sitting on their front porch one morning when he was 23 saying he had enough. He had stayed at home for two days before Jack had driven him up to a rehab where he stayed for three months and then lived at home for another six months before deciding on what he wanted to do.

He had gotten into computer game design, being a hacker (which they found out later), and had never looked back. He was handsome and rich and had the optimum look of a bad boy. His family had found out through the years he was a bad boy with a heart of gold. He still had bad days and weeks where he spent time either at home or with one of his siblings. Over the years the Bolton's had become a tight knit family that supported one another trough anything. However he was protesting the weekend, Jack not having let him come to test drive the play station right away. Julie had called him to get him come but found out that he was going away for the weekend with a girl. She had come away from the telephone conversation with a smile on her face. Their son had become a player and she hoped that he didn't leave behind to many broken hearts.

Next to show up was Tess. She had been married for four years and had a little girl of two. Although everyone loved the two year old Chloe she was also a nightmare by nature. She was picky and moody and got her way one way or another. She entered the house being carried by her father and Tess gave Troy a hug and handed him a present.

Troy couldn't help but blush. He had never gotten a present before let alone so many. Just this week the Bolton's had brought him a toy and a book, not to mention the play station that everyone seemed to think was his. Christmas was a normal day at their house and he always dreaded his birthday.

His father would take him out of school for the week claiming that he was taking his son fishing for his birthday week. The part about the fishing wasn't a lie they would end up at a secluded cabin in the mountains where his father spent the first two days beating Troy to a pulp with anything he could get his hands on. Where his father normally demanded his silence during his punishments and discipline he wanted Troy to scream on his birthday claiming that his mother had died screaming and it was the least her son could do to remember her on the day he had killed her. Troy would then spend the rest of the week in a corner in agony as his father went fishing.

Troy's breathing became quicker as being with these people this last week he was beginning to realise that what happened to him might have not been normal. He backed away from them as what happened to him on his birthdays began to flash before his eyes he tried to get rid of the images of by shaking his head.

He came to himself when he felt someone was talking to him in a soft voice telling him he was alright and there was no one here that would hurt him. He opened his eyes, when had he closed them? He looked into the eyes of Mrs. Bolton who was standing next to him but not touching him. It looked like he had managed to back himself to the wall. She smiled at him when she saw that he was back with her.

"It's ok, you're fine. Why don't we go into the kitchen and get you a glass of water?" she suggested and guided him to the kitchen. He suddenly realised that the house had gotten quieter as everyone suddenly seemed to find their way outside.

Julie handed Troy a glass of water which he drank down eagerly never realising how thirsty he was.

"It's a bit overwhelming isn't it," said Julie and without waiting for a reply went on, "don't worry about it, you are not the first to be overwhelmed by the family. They all had a similar treatment when they joined the family and hopefully you would get to return the favour someday too." She smiled remembering other Sunday barbeques where they had welcomed new members including husbands, boyfriends and newborns.

Troy was silent thinking he was probably going to be sent upstairs now that he had managed to destroy their Sunday when he suddenly felt a tugging on his leg. He looked down to see the most beautiful eyes looking up at him. There was a toddler there holding up her arms.

"Chloe! Where are you?" came the voice from the hallway and Tess came into the kitchen looking for her daughter.

"Oh, I am sorry that she is bothering you. Here let me take her," she said as she bent down to pick up her daughter. However the moment she reached for Chloe she let out a scream that had Troy backing away from her frightened. At this Chloe turned to look at him and threw him a stare that said 'where do you think you are going?' She then moved towards him again and lifted up her arms.

"Her majesty wishes that you pick her up," laughed her mother.

"But...but I don't know ... know anything about babies," got out Troy trying to back away once again however every time he took a step back the toddler would take a step towards him.

Tess laughed once more, "Don't worry toddlers are pretty resilient just reach down and pick her up," as Troy reluctantly reached for the toddler, Tess moved towards both of them and helped Troy adjust Chloe in his arms so she was snuggling against his chest. Chloe seemed to examine Troy from up close and whatever she had found seemed to satisfy her as she promptly put her head on his shoulder, curled one hand in his shirt and stuck her thumb in her mouth and starting humming.

"Well, officially welcome to the family," said Tess as she smiled at him. "She won't let you go easily just so you know," she went on moving towards the door that would take her outside. "Join us outside whenever you are ready."

"You might want to get out there before the others tear into the last gift" was her parting comment.

Julie calmly led Troy outside to join the others where they found that Mark's kids were already in the pool with their clothes on and Mark was trying to get them out.

Julie guided Troy to a quieter corner of the garden where he could sit under the shade. He seemed contended to sit there with Chloe who on occasion raised her head looked around and made gibberish comments about the group to Troy and he seemed to agree with her.

People in the family drifted over to the two of them and sat down and started conversations with Troy. He seemed to be holding his own thought Jack as he tried to observe Troy without being too obvious about it.

Last to show up was Maxim, he being sensible came with a book and it was a book on basketball to which Troy's eyes lit up. He introduced himself to Troy and said that the room next to Troy's that was a bit messy belonged to him.

"A bit messy!" came the noise from somewhere in the crowd, "Under statement of the year!" followed that comment.

It seemed that the Bolton's kept a foster child's room until they were settled into their own home and then someone else would move into it. So Troy thought that if the Bolton's decided to keep him the room that he was staying in would be his until he graduated from university or found a job and somewhere to live before they readied it for another child. When Troy would leave their home his room would still be there as they only took one child in at a time and they would ready Maxim's room for that child who hopefully would have moved on by then.

Troy found out that Maxim was attending U of A and would be coming home quite often in the following weeks as well as into the school year. Troy wondered if he couldn't come back because Troy was so messed up. If he had learned one thing this week was that his father was right about something and that was that he himself was a lot of work. He didn't think he deserved this much attention but didn't know what to do about it.

He spent the next two hours sitting under the shade. Someone brought him a plate of food that had more food then he could possibly eat. He wondered how he was to eat it all as Tess and her husband Ben wondered over to sit with him. Tess promptly started to eat of his plate as well as her husbands' and got Chloe to eat something as well. They made light conversation with Troy which he found that he enjoyed.

He was then dragged inside by the children as well some of the adults to try out the new play station. As evening fell people started to make noises about leaving Troy imagined that he would be responsible for the cleanup. The Bolton's might not ask him for work in the week but they would definitely need someone to clean up this mess. However when Julie declared it was time for clean up everyone chipped in, Troy ("new members don't chip in for at least a month" was what he was told) he found himself on the couch with Mary, who was Mark's wife (who was considered to clumsy to help out) and Chloe (too little to help) watching 'Tom and Jerry'. And in no time the whole house was back to its original order with everything back in its proper place. Mark and Claire and their brood said their goodbyes and left. Maxim had decided to spend the night and leave in the morning and it looked like Tess and her family also had no intention of leaving.

As the evening went on Troy observed that many settled into do whatever they wanted. He quietly went upstairs and lied down on his bed to read his book. After about five minutes he felt something trying to climb his bed and looked at the end of the bed to see Chloe trying to climb up. He gently reached over and lifted her up onto the bed where she curled up next to him. He looked over to the door to see if anyone would follow her and ask for her but seeing no one settled back down to read. A huffing drew his attention as Chloe was looking at him he got the impression that he was to read to her, so he started to read in a quiet voice which seemed to be what she wanted.

He woke up when he felt something was moving and had a momentarily panic about what was going on.

"Shh, it's ok, don't worry about it," came a quiet reassuring voice that he was not really familiar with. He opened his eyes to look into the eyes of Tess who was moving Chloe.

"I am afraid it is time for us to go home," said Tess ignoring the negative comments Chloe seemed to be making in her sleep. "It looks like you have a fan," she said as she carried her down.

Troy got up to follow her downstairs he hadn't meant to fall asleep. He was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as Tess and Ben were saying their goodnights.

"Good night Troy, it was nice meeting you," said Ben.

"We are a phone call away if you need anything," added Tess.

After they had gone Coach Bolton turned towards Troy, Troy once again wondered if he had done anything wrong. The Coach didn't seem to be pissed. He was led into the kitchen where they went over his schedule for the next day and he was sent upstairs to get ready for bed. He didn't question the time, it had been a long day and he was looking forward to sleeping.

He really enjoyed his bed times and now wished that he didn't have to take the pill so he could savour the time Mrs. Bolton spent reading to him. Tonight he was too tired to realise that he was actually reciting along with Julie and missed her complete shock when she stopped reading and he continued to recite the story from memory from where she left of and drifted into pleasant dreams that involved many smiling people talking all at once from all corners of the room.


	12. Chapter 12

_I have gone back to work after two weeks of holiday so although I want to update as soon as possible it will take time for me to write, so updates will be less frequent but I hope to aim for two chapters a week. We are more than half way through the story, I had planned 20 chapters or so for this story.  
I was hopping for Chad and the guys to show up in this chapter however it just got too long. They are in the next chapter. ENJOY!_

It was Monday night and they were settling down to go over the schedule for the next day. It had been an interesting day. Troy had met Michele today who was the house keeper. He had always imagined that if one was to have a maid or a house keeper in the house they would be quiet and keep out of the way. His father was known to comment on the fact that Troy would not be even good enough to do the job of a maid as he was too noisy whenever he did something.

Troy on the other hand found out that Michele had not been quiet and neither did she keep out of the way. She had shown up halfway through breakfast and promptly started tiding up the mess Jack had made while helping herself to some pancakes. She had then introduced herself to Troy and told him when she would she get around to his room in her schedule of the week and she had expected his room to be tidy and not like Maxim's. When Troy had said 'yes Ma'am' to her she had promptly let out a pearl of laughter and told him she was as far as you can get from a 'Ma'am' that anybody could get.

He had been fascinated by her. She apparently had worked for the Bolton's for the last 11 years and knew her way around the house. She was kind and nice. His eyes followed her around the kitchen as she started opening and closing cabinets and telling them she was never ever going to take a week of as they messed up her kitchen on her absence. Troy wondered why these people would pay someone money for a job that they could get someone to do it for free.

He himself had done these at home for as long as he could remember. He had to admit that he was having way more fun doing the stuff the Bolton's got him to do but he wasn't being useful; swimming in their pool (which was what he was supposed to be doing this morning, Claire's two kids were also coming), playing games on the play station or building Lego's was not productive. It was inefficient and he had a hard time understanding what they were gaining from him wasting his time. He liked the fact that his knees no longer ached because he had to spend hours on his hands and knees scrubbing floors or better yet he was no longer bored out mind doing the same things over and over again.

Troy had decided that he liked living in their house despite the whole family being slightly weird and if they wanted him to waste his time he was not going argue with them. However there was a problem, they had yet to find out that he was slow and stupid. He had worked really hard to cover up the fact that he had a hard time keeping up with the rest of his class.

Last night he had come to the decision that they would not find out. No one in school had ever found out until now and if he worked at it then the Bolton's might never find out. Of course when they found out that they had taken in an idiot they might be very pissed off about it and he might not be able to live though the punishment but he was determined to try.

In order for this to work Troy wanted to get some study time into his day. The earlier he started to study the better he would be prepared for the next school year. Studying was something that the Bolton's didn't seem to find important enough to add to his daily schedule. He had brought up the conversation with Meredith today, keeping from her that he wanted to study as well.

"What if.... what if....." he had began but couldn't finish.

"Take your time, you can say anything to me within this room, and it will stay in this room," she had told him.

He had taken a deep breath and got it out, "what if I want to do something that is not on the schedule?"

She had actually given him a smile, "Well you can always tell Jack the night before and I am sure he can find a place to add it. Or you can simply suggest doing it instead of something else."

He had looked at her sceptically, would they change their plans just because he asked them to? Meredith had given him another option;

"Or you can always suggest it in place of what you have on the schedule as free time, I believe, right after lunch?"

Troy had considered that possibility. It was a time he usually used for reading, and really enjoyed it and it was only two hours, not enough but when you looked at it he was also getting to read in the mornings before exercising and two hours was good enough to being with. He'll see what he could do about more time on a later date. He had found himself nodding his head to the suggestion and was very glad that Meredith had not asked what he wanted to do.

Troy had built up the courage to ask for this all through dinner. And when Jack had come to the part where he was writing down free time he had spoken up for the first time.

"uhh..." not a very good start, but the Coach stopped writing and looked up at him without saying anything waiting for him to say whatever he wanted.

"I was wondering..." he started and couldn't finish, Jack on the other hand didn't say anything. In the last week he had found out that waiting Troy out was better at getting him to speak then encouraging him to speak. Troy took a breath and got it out at one go, a bit fast but it was out.

"I was wondering if I could use the free time to study?" he asked without looking up from the table top.

Jack was glad that Troy was not looking at him because he might have been put off by the look of surprise that came over his face. They were at the end of July, school was not on for another 6 weeks and as far as he knew all of Troy's summer assignments were done. He wanted to study?

He knew that Troy strove for excellence. Something that was unusual in an abused child. Normally abused children had a hard time concentrating, therefore did poorly academically. However he knew that this was something that was driven into Troy's head; to excel in the classroom and on the court. It was part of who Troy was also Jack believed part of his abuse.

You never blamed parents who pushed their children beyond their capabilities. And if it wasn't for the physical abuse no court would have removed Troy form his home just because his father made him study too hard and practice too much. He had seen Troy's school records the child had one 'B+' in the entire last year of school.

He wanted to say no to the request. This was his free time damn it, he was supposed to use it for something he wanted to do, enjoyed to do. They were trying to give him a repertoire of things that he could do and he chose to study? He wanted to explain to Troy that he didn't need to work that hard to be perfect but this was the first thing Troy had asked of him and he didn't want to discourage the boy.

"Of course," he said in the best cheerful voice he could muster. He knew he had made the right choice when Troy looked up and he had a grateful look on his face. Had this child never been given anything? He was asking for something that most parents would have been ecstatic about and he had the look on his face that said that Jack allowed him the privilege.

"Studying it is," he finished as he wrote it down, academic over achievement was not a bad thing, and it could be something they took up to discuss another day.

XXXXX

The next morning Troy got out of the shower and moved towards the bedroom to get dressed. He really enjoyed the morning exercises with Coach Bolton, after their run together the coach would get him to do a variety of exercises that Troy found extremely enjoyable and even after a week of morning exercises he found that his game was improving.

He moved over to where Mrs. Bolton had put the clothes he was supposed to wear that day. He was quite nervous about this morning, when she had laid out the choices for him last night she had pulled out two t-shirts had looked at them both and very calmly told Troy to pick one to wear. How was he supposed to know which one he was supposed to choose? What if he made the wrong choice, would she punish him? Troy shook his head the Bolton's had been very nice till now, they wouldn't do anything, would they?

He realised that he had been standing there for the last ten minutes staring at the choices when he heard Mrs. Bolton moving down the stairs and realised that he might be actually late. He closed his eyes and picked a shirt and put it on praying that it was the right choice and went down the stairs.

As he entered the kitchen he stopped in his tracks, there by the counter sat a man he had never seen before.

"Morning," said the stranger and at that Jack turned around from the stove and waved Troy over to the island.

"This here is Daniel," introduced Jack. "He has come over to test drive your play station."

"Why would he do that is beyond us as he has the better version at his house," said Julie as she joined them at the kitchen. She first reached over to Troy and gave him a kiss which he had learn to except and secretly loved getting then she reached over to Daniel and planted a kiss on his cheek which he held out.

"Fresh meat," answered Daniel, "no one ever wants to play with me," he pouted.

Then he looked over at Troy's plate that he had not started to eat. "Come on eat up, eat up. We have all the games that you have to go through and then there are the new ones I have and I also have a new game we are developing to try out."

"What are you working on?" asked Jack as he started to dig into his own breakfast.

"A new 'Forgotten Realms' game about my favourite character," Troy's head went up when he heard what they were talking about.

"He was that dark elf with the two swords right, fights for what is right" asked Julie, she had always tried to learn about their children's interests. "What was he called Duran something or the other."

"Drizzt Do'Urden," answered Troy before he could help himself.

Daniel let out a big laugh at hearing that. "A kindred spirit at last!" he then proceeded to question Troy up and down about what he knew of the books. Which particular battles he as a 14 year old would like to see in a computer game and when he learned that Troy had a limited amount of knowledge on computer games he dragged Troy away to the living room where he started to educate him on the world of computer games.

Troy had never met or known a person such as Daniel. He could talk more than anyone he knew and Troy felt instantly safe with him. He was affected by his energy and charm and found out that he talked to him more then he talked to anyone. Within the few hours he knew him he felt safe enough to admit to Daniel that he had no idea what to do the with the laptop that was sitting in his bedroom. All he had ever known about computers was what he had gained from computer class in school. His father had never actually let him use his own laptop. He then found himself being dragged for the second time that morning this time up to his bedroom to see what can be done about his laptop.

They were sitting at Troy's desk and Daniel was working on Troy's laptop putting in programs and changing stuff way too fast for Troy to follow along. He wouldn't be able to follow along even if he could understand what he was doing. He couldn't concentrate. There was always the fear of not knowing if he was doing something wrong or what would happen if he actually did something wrong. This feeling of not knowing was new and he didn't know how he was going to solve the problem. He thought that at least with his father he knew where he stood and the fact that yes he knew he could live through the day with a certain amount of discipline no matter how much it hurt. With the Bolton's he was never sure, no one could possibly be this nice, could they? They had to get angry sometime. Troy was bound to do something they did not like. What were the things they didn't like? What would happen if he unknowing did one?

Suddenly he realized that Daniel stopped whatever he was doing and was looking at him.

"Sorry," whispered Troy looking down.

"How about instead of 'sorry' you tell me what the questioning look was for?" he replied looking at Troy a certain way. "You know you can ask out loud whatever is bothering you, maybe I can help or I know that Jack and Julie are always willing to listen..."

He never got to finish as Troy put in a desperate "No!"

Daniel actually laughed at the desperate look on his face as the problem suddenly seemed clear. "So the problem is actually Jack and Julie. Interesting I would never have pegged them to be anybodies troubles."

"please…" Troy found himself begging. He wasn't sure what he was asking of Daniel, he wasn't sure what the problem was.

Daniel's face softened up, "please what? Don't tell them? I wouldn't even know what to tell them. It wouldn't be my place anyway. However if you do have a problem with them you need to voice it out."

"No," this time the plea was softer but still there.

"I didn't say you had to voice out your problem about them to them. You can always tell someone else. I know you see Meredith. Now I liked her! I think I was one of the people that actually managed to drive her crazy." He smiled at the fond memories of running circles around Meredith just for the fun of it when she was actually trying to help.

"You went to see Meredith?" asked a surprised Troy.

"Yes I did, but let's not change the subject. You can talk to her, she is very nice or you can always try me. I know we have only known each other for just four hours but I am technically your older brother and no one comes to me for advice. I am the messed up one you know? It would be nice to help someone with their problems once in their life."

Troy thought that it couldn't hurt. For some reason he found that he liked Daniel and felt that he could trust him.

"I am uncertain," he said in a quiet voice. He still wasn't sure of the reaction he would get.

"Uncertain of what?" asked Daniel for clarification.

"Doesn't Jack and Julie ever get angry?" said Troy instead of answering Daniel.

Daniel was confused. Troy didn't seem the type to want to anger anyone. That was his department. He had spent every single minute of the six months he spent here in their home trying to rile them up. If Troy wanted to piss them off he needed to up his game.

"Are you trying to make them angry? Because if so…."

He was cut off for the second time that day, "NO! Oh God no! I don't want them to be angry. But they never seem to be angry. They are understanding and stuff but do they get angry?"

Suddenly lights went off in Daniel's head. He was an expert at trying to get a reaction out of people. He had tried it with everyone he had met before the age of 23. It looked like his new little brother wanted the exact opposite; he wanted to be ignored and not seen. He was perfect in his behavior hopping he was good enough and no one would take notice of him and because he was a perfect little boy he wasn't sure where the boundaries where.

Daniel felt like laughing out loud. The boundaries with Jack and Julie where pretty far and they were very understanding of mistakes as well as delinquent behavior, one of the reasons why they were so popular with child services to place difficult children with. It would take a lot for this perfect child to rile them up. He actually smiled; Jack and Julie deserved a less problematic child in their life and it looked like Troy could fit the bill. That is after he got over his insecurities and Daniel was sure that he would. Jack and Julie would work at it until Troy could stand on his own two feet.

He turned fully so he was facing Troy. "So let me get this straight, you want to know what things would make Jack and Julie angry so you can avoid doing them?"

Troy looked at Daniel that pretty much summed up the first part of the problem. "yes…" he started but couldn't continue.

"Is there more to the problem?"

Troy had gotten this far he might as well go all the way. "I know that I won't be able to avoid 'things not to do' all the time," he took a deep breath and he got out in one rush, "what would they do when I do something wrong?"

When he saw that Daniel was looking at him, he thought that maybe he was thinking that Troy couldn't take the punishment or the discipline he deserved and would think he was a wimp, so rushed to explain.

"I mean I know I can take a beating, or a … belting or … whatever," he swallowed "I am not afraid or anything, I just like knowing so you know…." he finished lamely, not knowing what to say.

Daniel suddenly realized he might be more out of his dept then he thought. How to explain to someone that not everyone was out to hurt you when he himself never believed it when he was the age Troy was?

"OK," he said just to get time. "Let's take this one step at a time. First of Jack and Julie do not believe and I mean NEVER believe that physical retribution to be the deserving punishment for any crime." He looked at Troy to see if he was getting though.

"Do you understand me? Nothing you could possibly do would get them to hit you in any way. Not even if you break your bedroom window to escape from your room in the middle of the night or steal money from their valets. I mean nothing!"

He looked over at Troy. "Look at me Troy," he waited until he was looking at him, "nothing."

"But that was you, you are… I don't know, you know things, you are ... smart, I am just…" he didn't want to voice that he was dumb, and then it would make it real. "Wouldn't they be different with me?"

"There have been eight of us before you and not a single one of us was ever hit no matter what we did." He repeated, "Ever."

Troy nodded his head, "then how will they keep me in line?" he voiced the question that was in his head out loud.

'Keep him in line?' This boy needed to be kept in line? "Perhaps it is time that Jack and Julie were part of this conversation," suggested Daniel.

"No!"

"Listen Troy, one: Jack and Julie would never ever punish you on the first offence. They wouldn't punish you on the second and probably on the third offence either. But hearing these from me won't help you. You need to hear it from them. You need to know what they consider as offences."

He gave Troy a few minutes to think it over, "now I know I have said that I would not share what we are talking about with Jack and Julie but let me assure you that this is something they need to hear about so they can help you."

"No, what if they get angry?"

"Well you wanted to know what would make them angry so this would be a good opportunity to try out and see if these type of questions make them angry." With that he stood up.

"What are you doing?" asked a panicked Troy.

"We are going to go and talk to them," he held out his hand like you would do for a little child. "Come on, I promise it would be fine and besides I will be there and I promise nothing will happen."

Troy wondered about what he could lose and gain from this. His questioning would be over and he would get his answers even if the Coach and Mrs. Bolton were angry and he got a beating at the end of it. That would be one thing that was out of the way. He got up and avoiding the offered hand followed Daniel down the stairs.

They walked into the kitchen where they found Jack and Julie sitting and having something to drink and talking. Troy wanted to back away right then sure that they were bothering them but a hand sneaked out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and Daniel physically dragged him into the room.

"If we are not bothering you we have some questions?" asked his captor.

"Of course, you know any time is fine with us," answered Jack as neutral as possible, not really happy with the fact that Daniel was physically pulling Troy along.

"Actually we don't seem to know that," said Daniel with a pointed look at his parents. Suddenly he saw the realization drawn on their faces. He sat down at the table pulling and making Troy sit down as well. Then he turned to him and in a soft voice spoke to Troy.

"If you wish I can do the talking, and then if there are still things you are not sure of you can voice them as well." Troy just nodded his head trying to keep his breathing under control. He was at least glad that whatever they gave him in the mornings seemed to keep him from going into a panic attack.

"Troy would like to know the rules for this household," said Daniel. "I have seen the schedule for the day," he said looking at the schedule that was stuck on the fridge. "I have also seen the chore list but where are the rules and boundaries for this house?"

Troy was not looking up from the table top he was examining. The only thing that was keeping him in place was that Daniel had a death grip on his arm and wasn't letting go. Daniel turned to him. "It's ok," he whispered in a soft tone and continued talking to him in a normal tone.

"You see Jack and Julie both are teachers and teachers like list and things that are clear hence your chore list and the schedule but you should also have had one about the rules of this house, not your fault that they forgot to write them down for you."

"They told me the rules," whispered Troy so both Jack and Julie had to strain to hear him. "The first day I got here, they told them to me."

"Do you remember what they are?" asked Daniel softly, he was known to jump into things without background information and he thought perhaps he should have gotten a bit more information before going through with this. But they were here now they might as well get it out of the way.

Troy felt really really really dumb. He knew he was told the rules, he never actually remembered what was being said. He had just been told days before that he was no longer going to live with his father. He had been taken from his home in France, had been jet lagged and hadn't gotten over been jet lagged very well before he was brought to the Bolton's. He remembered that they had talked to him quite a bit that day but he just never took anything in. He had never lied about anything in his life, his father had demanded the truth no matter what and he didn't know what to say about this anyway, so he went with the truth.

"Not really."

The conversation that followed Troy's softly spoken confession was long however fruitful. Jack and Julie started off with an apology to Troy. They should have, would have gone over the rules of the house however everything else had gotten in the way and all the schedules and their careful movement around him they did not think that not knowing the actual rules of the house was causing Troy extra stress.

The bigger stress they found out was not knowing what would happen to him when he did something wrong. Very understandable in a child who expected a beating but not knowing what these people would do. They kept telling him that they would not hurt him but never told him what they would actual do if he did something wrong. Armed with a new understanding they started to go over all the rules and discipline systems that they had in the house.

It looked like Troy gained new confidence with Daniel being there and was able to ask a few questions while Jack and Julie explained all the rules of the house again which were normal things such as curfews and having friends over or going to friends' house and such. They also explained to Troy and what would happen if he should break anyone of the rules. How he would get a reminder on the first offence, a warning on the second one, a lecture about why these rules were in place on the third and punishment on the fourth. Troy was confused about having no idea what a punishment about taking away his phone or internet privileges would cause when Daniel calmly explained.

"You see, from now on you and I are going to be talking on the phone or chatting on the computer daily about what you have been doing and what you think about my new game. Very shortly you will become an addict for these conversations so you can't possibly live without them. After you have come to depend on them with your life even the threat of losing these conversations will become life treating."

After Daniel had calmly explained this as it was the most normal thing in the world Troy had looked at Daniel as he had gone crazy and a large smile had formed on his face and he lowered his head to the table onto his arms. Jack and Julie were momentarily worried until they realised that Troy was actually laughing.

It was a joyous moment to see their son laugh. He had been living with them for almost two weeks now and they had only seen him smile a couple of times. It was incredible to see him laugh about the rules of the house no less.

They realised that it might be difficult but Troy was taking the steps to getting better and things will only get better from now on.


	13. Chapter 13

_Sorry about the long delay, this chapter did not wish to come and I still am not very happy with it, however I wish for the story to move on and I can only do that if this chapter is done and over with. While it might look like Troy's life in on the mend a few more hiccups awaits him so there will be more drama in the future._

_On a second note, during the last week I have re-read what I have written hoping for inspiration and saw a few mistakes here and there, English is my second language and I do not have a beta and although I re-read what I have written several times before publishing all the mistakes belong to me. Sorry!_

The next few days brought noticeable changes in Troy. He started to take part in conversations by himself without being prompted. He also started to ask for permission for doing things. Jack would have preferred that he did not ask for things like 'May I go outside' however he was willing to let it go for the moment.

Before they knew it another week had gone by. Jane, one of their older foster children the Bolton's had had, had come down from LA for the weekend. Troy left shelf conscious with her arrival. Everyone else in the family he had met lived right here in Albuquerque whereas she had specifically arranged so that she could come and met him. Coach Bolton and Mrs. Bolton had picked up on his nervousness explained that she was the nicest person however Troy felt like she was measuring him against something and knew that he came up lacking.

It was Daniel that came to his rescue. Troy had spent the entire Friday with Jane and was feeling really down. While talking on the phone that night Daniel told him that not that Jane had not liked him however if she hadn't than he shouldn't worry about it so much, he couldn't get everybody he met to like him and it would be wise versa. Someday he was bound to meet someone he would not like. This was a new concept for Troy, he was just meeting a lot of new people and he wanted people liking him and never considered whether he would like these people or not. Not liking other people was a new concept for him and Daniel had given him fruit for thought.

The new theory came to be put into practice over the weekend. On Saturday the Bolton's had agreed to spend the day with their friends the Evans family.

Vance Evans and Jack were high school friends that never lost touch. They had even played basketball together for East High back in the day. Vance had gone on to take his families money and take the business world by storm and make his families money into one of the greatest fortunes around New Mexico. He was also the one that advised Jack about what to do with his family money so they would never be in trouble.

They were known to get a phone calls in the middle of the night telling them that the first thing they needed to do in the morning was invest in a Japanese company and so and so.

Vance had gone to marry an eccentric girl he had met in college. May was into all sorts' of eastern philosophy and Vance fell in love with not only her but with all her ideas and philosophies as well. Jack and he they were still very good friends and tried to get together whenever they could. The Evans' were even sending their children to public school so they would get the same experience that Vance himself had gotten.

The Evans had two children that were the same age as Troy. Twins; a girl named Sharpay and a boy named Ryan. Julie was slightly worried about the twins' reaction to Troy, while was Ryan sensitive and kind she knew that Sharpay could be bunt and a bit unkind when she chose to be. She was glad that Jane was coming along with them, Sharpay adored Jane and would be more interested in seeing her then spending her time with Troy.

They had agreed to spend the day at the Evans Country club first playing golf and then having dinner with them. They drove up to the club in the afternoon and were met at the gate by May who gave them all hugs and kisses and led them through the vast country club to the golf course where the rest of the family was awaiting them.

Vance and Jack greeted each other as usual like they have not seen each other for years and were reunited once again after a war. What shocked everybody was the causal way Ryan said, "Hey Troy."

Everyone looked at them with a bit of shock, "You guys know one another?" asked May surprised.

"Yeah, we are in the same homeroom," supplied Ryan.

"Hello" was the quiet response they got from Troy.

"Wow, he actually speaks," was Sharpay's contribution to the conversation. "I don't think I heard you speak once all last year," she went on. It was Jane who cut her off by starting a conversation with her about what she had been doing in the drama department.

Vance ever aware of her daughter and her ways moved the conversation along, "why don't we take this thing on to the golf course?"

And they were off. After a few holes Jack finally convinced Troy to try a swing. He positioned him and showed him what he was supposed to do and had to fight of Vance who also was trying to show Troy and telling Jack that he had it all wrong. When Troy finally was allowed to hit the ball Ryan let out a whistle.

"That was some shot. Are you use this is your first time playing the game?"

Troy just looked at the ground he was not comfortable with people complimenting him.

"You are a natural to this game," went on Vance saving him from answering. "What do you say Jack? We need to get this child some lessons so he can be a hell fire on the grass."

Jack looked over at Troy and not really sure how to answer this particular question. Then he went on with a natural "We'll see, we'll see."

They convinced Troy to play a few more holes and Troy could say that generally enjoyed himself. He also made light conversation with Ryan, he never initiated the conversations but didn't shy away from them when Ryan came over to talk to him.

He stayed away from Sharpay because he had no idea how to talk to her and was grateful when Jane kept her well away from him. When Jane saw him looking her way she had given him the slightest of eye winks telling him that she would keep her at bay. He had found himself shyly smiling back at her knowing that they would be alright. He realised that he was putting Daniel's theory into practice and he might just not generally like Sharpay.

The rest of the day had passed surprisingly pleasant. The golf was great and he had found himself agreeing to take lessons so he could be better and found himself sitting next to Ryan during dinner and having a conversation about classical music which he enjoyed. Overall the day was a success.

Before they knew it, it was once again Sunday. Everybody had called into say they were once again attending. This time their excuse was that Jane was in town. Troy was more relaxed this weekend knowing what to expect. He got even more relaxed after Daniel showed up. He had brought Troy a very heavy gift.

He claimed that Sunday was the gift giving day and he hadn't had the opportunity to welcome him properly into the family as he had missed last week's gathering. Troy had gotten over his shyness very quickly with Daniel and had torn into the gift like any fourteen year old would have done and after seeing what was in the gift had thrown his arms around him and had given him a hug.

Daniel had made a comment along the lines that he was the only fourteen year old boy that he knew who could possibly get that excited about receiving books. He had gotten him the entire Forgotten Realms series that had Drizzt Do'Urden in them.

When Chloe arrived she didn't even waste a moment before making an attempt at being in Troy's arms. So once again she spent the entire day in his arms while Troy was dragged around the back yard this time being part of the conversations and having a good time all around.

The next day at the youth center Jack was watching Troy free playing with some of the boys and enjoying himself. Troy was laughing as the boys actually played something between basketball and football where everyone was chasing each other and travelling with the ball seemed to be ok when everyone else tried to jump on you when you had the ball.

Normally Jack would have blown his whistle and told the boys to choose whether they wanted to play football or basketball and to stop horsing around but seeing Troy laughing out loud as he was jumped on by all the other boys he did not have the heart.

"He seems to be enjoying himself," said Meredith as she joined him observing the boys.

"He has been a lot better this week," Jack stopped and thought over the week, "he has been asking for more and more things he can do."

"You seem frustrated about it," observed Meredith. Jack took his eyes of Troy to look at Meredith and after a minute of evaluating her went back to watching his son.

"Someone ever tell you are too observant for your own good?"

Meredith just smiled, "are you dodging the question or are you going to answer."

"It is frustrating. I mean when he asks questions like 'may I go outside to the garden?' It is supposed to be his home. He should be able to do some things without asking permission for it. I am actually surprised that he doesn't ask for permission to go the bathroom!" Jack was surprised that he was angrier than he actually was.

"I told you at the beginning this would not be easy. But don't worry, I can tell you that it will get easier. If you get really frustrated know that I am here for you as well." Meredith let that sink in before she went on.

"Troy is smart and he is adapting very quickly. Perhaps you should give him whole answers to some of his questions. Such as this questions will be always answered as 'yes' so please don't ask it again."

Jack just looked at Meredith. "Don't walk on egg shells around him. It is ok for him to see you frustrated and angry even. The important thing is that he knows that you will not remain angry or punish him unfairly."

Jack thought on this, he was a passionate man and it was difficult to be around Troy when he was always so nervous with him. He wanted an easy relationship with him. Just the other day Troy was moving things around his room after he was told he could and was struggling. Jack had made the move towards his room to help and he stopped in his tracks when Troy had frozen on the spot. Jack had asked whether Troy would be more comfortable if he didn't enter his room and while he had rejoiced that Troy had said 'yes, he would prefer it if he did not' he was hearth broken about it. He realized that Meredith was continuing the conversation.

"I spoke with Julie she said he was finding it easier to choose his own clothes in the morning."

This was something that Jack could add to, "Yes, she told him to pick a t-shirt from the closet this morning, took Troy 15 minutes to make it downstairs but he did it."

Meredith nodded her head some things would be easier than others but things would take time. A life time of habit, things you had to unlearn to do was difficult even for adults let alone a teenage boy who expected to be punished for the wrong choices. "Our aim is for him to be independent in that at least by the time school year starts."

She was silent for a minute watching the boys when suddenly she said, "I think he needs a friend."

"Excuse me?"

"You know when you have a friend, someone you play with."

"Yes I know what a friend is, am I just supposed to pick a child of the street. These things are ok when your child is seven you can call a friends son or daugther over to play but not when they are fourteen. Aren't teenagers supposed to find their own friends?"

"Stop being so sarcastic Jack. We are just trying to give Troy a leg up when it comes to social situations and finding him a friend might be a good thing."

"Suppose we do find this child, what are we supposed to tell this particular child about Troy?" asked Jack sarcastically. He knew children this age could be very cruel when they chose to be and high school was a place where you could be quiet, shy and a loner but you probably couldn't get away being different.

"I know what you are thinking. See if you can think of anyone around you that wouldn't freak out or run of to tell everyone else. You don't have to tell the boy everything about Troy, in fact it would be better if you told him the minimum, such as that Troy's father wasn't the most caring person in the world and that he was removed from his home for his own protection. Let the other boy fill in the blanks. And in time if Troy wishes to share details with his friend and then that's up to him."

On the drive home Jack was smiling as Troy spoke to him about the game all the way home. Jack thought about what Meredith had said and shared it with Julie and they discussed it long into the night but could not find a solution.

The situation sorted itself up the following day. Jack was surprised; it was like Meredith was psychic and if he didn't know any better he would have guessed that she had set up the situation but if she had how he would never know.

It was late in the afternoon. They had just gotten back from the youth center. There was an hour and a half to dinner and Troy had been shooed out of the house by Mrs. Bolton to go and do something fun. He had found himself in the tree house in the backyard.

The tree house had been built by Jack and Mark. It had then gotten many additions by the rest of the children that came afterwards and who had claimed the house as their own as everyone had added their name into the house. There was a plank in the house that actually said 'Claimed Jane March 7th 1986'. Underneath that came everyone of the children that lived in the Bolton household and the date that they claimed the tree house, Troy was fascinated.

Troy hadn't been up in the tree house until that Sunday when he was dragged up to it by James, Claire's older son. Until that time he had not been sure if he would be allowed in the tree house but he had been secretly dying for it. He figured that if he was invited into it no one could be angry at him.

Mark had come along and climbed up to the house to see what they were doing. Troy had tensed up especially after James had shown him all the names that the house belonged to. Mark had smiled and told him the story behind the tree house, the need he had for running away and that Jack and him had built the house and afterwards Jack had told Mark that he now had somewhere to run away to. He had spent many days in the tree house while he lived here.

He had then told Toy that the house now belonged to him and would continue to belong to him as long as he called this place home and they would be honoured to share their tree house with him. He had then taken out a pocket knife and handed it over to Troy and told him to add his name to the list. Troy was reluctant to do but couldn't help the feeling of intense happiness that came over him once he was done. Suddenly the tree felt like it was his.

He was now lying on the veranda (so to speak) of the tree house, he had bought up some of the pillows from the pool side and lounging on them while reading a book when he suddenly heard someone enter the garden from the side. Hearing the commotion that followed the boy Troy ventured a guess that the boy was running away. The boy had a full head of afro hair was wearing a big smile that Troy could see even from his place up in the tree. The noise that followed the boy was also not frightening.

The boy carefully walked over to the tree house and climbed up the ladder like he had done it many times. He was momentarily surprised when he saw Troy but didn't have time to say anything as two other giggling girls followed him into the garden. The weird haired boy looked over at him with pleading eyes before hiding in the house. The girls that followed him came to stand underneath the house and they too were surprised when they saw that it was Troy looking down at them.

"Excuse me," said one of the girls and from the look of her Troy would have guessed that she was the younger sister of the one he was now hiding.

"I am looking for my lank head of a brother and he usually hides in this tree house."

Troy was at a lost, it was driven into him that he always tell the truth no matter what but this was a strange situation.

"Sorry I haven't seen anyone," he couldn't believe that he was outright lying.

"Really?" asked the other girl.

"I have been up here for a while not only would I have noticed someone climb _my _tree house, I would have seen them enter the garden as well," he replied putting emphases on the 'my' part of his sentence so it was also for the benefit of the boy that was hiding as well.

"Oh well," said the girls, "if you see him could you let him know that we are looking for him." They said clearly disappointed at not being able to find their target.

Troy watched them exit the garden the same way they came discussing where they should look.

"Pssst... are they gone man?" came the whispered question from within the house.

"Yes, it is safe to come out," replied Troy, sitting up and leaning against the house to see the boy better.

The boy came around the house and had a huge smile on his face. "Thanks a billion man, that was my younger sister and her best friend and they want me to play house. Not cool man!"

He said as he took a seat facing Troy. It looked like he had no indication that he would leave. When Troy didn't say anything the boy went on.

"So this is your tree house. I was under the impression it was Maxim's and I know he doesn't use it and that he is off at college. Just so you know I have permission from the previous owner to be here."

Troy wondered if the boy knew about the Bolton's. "I live here now," he said not giving anything away just in case.

"New foster kid eh?" was the response from the boy.

"Yes,"

"So what happened to your real folks?" asked the boy, he was either very inconsiderate or just every innocent about the way the world was.

"My mother died at child birth and my father was declared unfit for fatherhood by the state of New Mexico and he is awaiting trial or so I am told."

"Really? Unfit? Was he really?"

Troy was taken aback by the question; he had just assumed that everyone else was right and whatever his father had done was not right. For the first time he found himself answering truthfully.

"I don't really know,"

There was a comfortable silence for the next couple of minutes that both boys didn't seem to mind before the other boy went on.

"Well this is my hiding place from my younger sister when she gets into one of her moods. This time she wanted to play barber shop. Can you believe that? Do you think I am gonna let anyone touch my hair?"

Troy wondered how he was supposed to answer, in his opinion Chad need a haircut. He need one since they were in pre-school but no one apparently told him that.

"I am Chad by the way, just so we are not just strangers sitting in a tree."

Seriously this guy didn't know who he was? "We actually have met," said Troy not really giving anything away.

"Really? I would have remembered meeting you, and I don't."

"You are Chad Danforth. Born and raised right here in Albuquerque. You have five sisters, three who are older and two who are younger. Your oldest sister has gone of the college last year and the other one is a senior this year. You complain to whoever listens about the hardships of being the only boy in the family but also the perk of having your own bedroom for the last two years. You hope to play for the Red Hawks of University of Albuquerque when you graduate from high school, playing for the Wild Cats of course and hope to play professional basketball after university, marry a super model and have only boys for children."

Chad looked speechless which in Troy's opinion was a feat in itself. Chad was a very honest and easy going guy who could easily apologize for mistakes and carry on. It was very obvious that this guy sitting in front of him knew him and in return had expected to be recognized.

"I am sorry we have obviously have met before... so perhaps you could refresh my memory?" he asked carefully.

Troy actually found himself laughing out loud. He didn't really know what he was laughing at, the fact that he was more invisible in school then he thought or was he insignificant that people just forgot about him.

"What's so funny," demanded Chad clearly offended. He was not supposed to remember every single person he met so what if this guy knew more about him then he was comfortable with.

"We are in the same homeroom class in high school," came the unexpected reply. "Further more we have been in the same class since pre-school," said the boy looking straight at him willing him to disagree. "In fact I sit right in front of you in homeroom."

Chad felt the blush going up his face and was lucky that you couldn't really tell that he was blushing. Not remembering a guy you met was one thing but not even recognizing someone who was in your class was something else altogether. He thought really hard about school and homeroom and all he could come up with was dark shaggy blond hair and a head that always looked down in front of him. He really looked at the guy in front of him and all he could connect was that this guy had the same hair.

He swallowed his pride and went on, he was after all sitting in the guys tree. "I am very sorry, I should know you but I don't. That is probably because I am an idiot who never pays enough attention to what is going on around him and I would like to make it up to you. May we start again?" he asked.

Troy thought about what was being offered and realised that he had nothing to lose. "Sure," he replied but didn't say anything else just because he had agreed didn't mean he was going to make it easy for him.

Chad took a deep breath and held out his hand "I am Chad Danfort not the most observant guy in the world apparently."

Troy reached over and accepted the hand shake. "Troy Thompson," after a beat he went on people would find out anyway, "the latest foster child to the Bolton family."

Troy could see when he said his name the light behind Chad's eyes went off as he finally recognized the name and put the face and the name together.

Troy found himself having a conversation with someone his own age far more easier than before. Before this summer he had always had found himself an outsider to the conversations that happened around him, when he was asked what he was into it was hard to answer when he didn't even know what the question had meant.

However this summer he had had more conversations then he could remember and thanks to Coach Bolton who was in a hurry to give him a crash course on anything that was out there, he found himself being able to hold his own and talk about all that Chad wanted to talk about.

They sat in the tree talking about anything and everything until Mrs. Bolton called Troy in for dinner. That was Chad's sign to leave.

"Man, I enjoyed myself. Not to sound like a chick but I have been missing male companionship this summer and just hanging with a guy just talking was nice."

"Yes, it has been nice," agreed Troy.

"You mind if I come over again?" asked Chad.

"I am always here," replied Troy. He would have to tell the Bolton's about Chad tonight and ask for their permission to see if he could come over. He was slightly worried about what they would they say about today but he had been told over and over again that they would never be angry on the first offence.

"Cool man," said Chad getting up and stretching.

As they crossed the basketball court to the back of the garden where there apparently was a gap in the fence that you could slip though Chad asked, "Can't remember if you play or not?"

"Yes, I play," replied Troy and then couldn't end up adding, "probably whop your but too."

"Oh you are so on. I will be here tomorrow morning nice and early to take that challenge on."

Feeling brave Troy replied, "make sure you bring along some tissues to use 'cause you will cry when you lose."

Chad threw his head back and laughed "Oh I can tell, this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship," he said before slipping thought the gap and going back to his own house.

Troy stood there for a few more moments feeling like his life was a runaway train that he had no idea of what was going to happen around the corner. As he heard Mrs. Bolton call him again he realised that he did not wish to get of the ride he rather see where it took him.


End file.
